Knight Takes Kingpiece
by Twisted Fate MK 2
Summary: Jaune Arc must return home and gather his strength, to stand against all comers. Ozpin, Salem, Adam, Ironwood. From Vale, to Atlas and beyond, Jaune is done being used, manipulated, and taken to do other's will. Now? His future is his own. Uncaring for titles like Hunstman, he will protect what is his. No matter the cost.
1. The Knight

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings**

 **Shadie**

 **Emperor King Perby**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Ansel was a quaint little village to Vale's north and west, three rows of houses leading to the town hall at a high point on the steady hill the town was built on nestled against a tall mountain, which was connected to a small manor about two stories tall and a hundred feet long. The buildings, even the manor, were all rather plane. Small yards out front and back ringed by stone walls from the mountains nearby, the same flagstone style the houses, hall and manor were built of. Flat bottom windows with pointed tops and small, iron overhangs were fixed two on front and two on back for the houses. The town hall's walls lacked that, for security reasons, and instead had plain, dull grey stone walls leading up to the same brown tiling that all the buildings possessed here. Smoke puffed out of the chimneys of the buildings, signs of life within them that Jaune welcomed.

A thick stone wall, a half-dozen feet of solid, slabbed stone, served as a perimeter defence. With carved iron stairs affixed to the wall and a similar walkway atop it, battlements of stone protecting the guards walking the wall with their long spears and large, square wooden shields, the Arc sigil emblazoned on the fronts brightly against the stark white background small flat surfaces of flagstones the size of a man with cannons for avian defence and mortars dotted along the wall at regular intervals, added security at range. Only around a dozen or s of each, all the town could afford, but enough to be of help.

Outside the walls, terraced fields of wheat, corn, barley and rice were being harvested by people from the village. Enough to winter, mainly, as well as extra for export to Atlas to the north. A moderately large hall and tavern was nestled just inside the main gate, the flag of Vale flying high over it, and even from here as the ship curved while it passed Jaune could just barely make out the signs of traders and merchants, staying in the lodge or making deals and preparing transport for the exports. Behind them and to the north, Jaune could see the sea that sat between Vale's continent and Atlas, the mountains opening up on that view.

"Setting down a ways north, Jaune. Not far enough to matter, just don't want to roast half the village landing and that's the best spot in this terrain." Jaune nodded at the man, and he whistled. "Shit, kid, you didn't tell me your family was loaded." " _If I wasn't retired, I swear…"_

"There are precious stones, rubies mostly, in the mountain with some red Dust that we export. And we're closer to Atlas than Vale, and we don't have the same taxes, so some small merchant groups like to pick up things from here to trade. Some iron, too, but too low quality for most things." He wrapped an arm around Neo at his side, pointing at the mountains surrounding the small, lush valley nestled between the three peaks and then to the thick forests around the mountains, "Like Vale, see? The mountains protect us mostly, and the forest grows chokingly thick. So most of the bigger Grimm can't get near. Atlas helps, too, they patrol around here kinda often. And the ocean is that way too, just a mile past the base, so there's even less."

" _So there's… a lot of soldiers here?"_ Neo asked worriedly, and Jaune shook his head.

"Nah, they have a fort around the curve of the mountain a few miles away. You can't even see them from anywhere near here, and it's mostly a skeleton crew anyways. Like-" He cut himself off, flinching at the memory and losing his good cheer. "Like… Castle Fort."

" _Yeah…"_ He felt Neo stiffen, more at what could have happened to him than what happened to her, and he smiled warmly in spite of himself at the sign of affection. She spotted it and elbowed his hip gently, " _Stop grinning like that! It was just…. A bad day, okay?"_

"Anyways, sounds like a nice village." Roman said, cutting in as the ship listed to the side and down, ducking over the mountains and into the valley and throwing the village into the ship's shadow. "So, just past the fields then? Gonna crush the trees a bit." " _A lot…"_

"Yeah, should be fine." Jaune said, turning and chewing on his lip. Looking down at himself, he sighed. A long cut scarred the front of his breastplate from the bottom left under his shield up across and to his right, a ragged end just under his shoulder joint. He ran a finger along that one, feeling the ragged metal and the dents around it from bullets, rocks, whatever else had struck him… "That Atlesian… His axe did a number on my armor. I wasn't even paying attention at the time, I remember."

"Just forget him, kid." Roman said as the ship shuddered, the sounds of snapping wood and timber creaking under them as the massive hulk shifted and groaned mutedly, forcing aside the timber as it landed just at the edge of the forest's edge, "You did what you had to, don't regret that. _Never_ regret doing what you have to, Jaune, it's what made you into you." " _And besides, where'd Neo be if you'd died?"_

"Yeah… Maybe you're right, but. I can't shake him from my memory, you know?" Jaune sighed again, letting his off hand shift to Croce Mors on his hip. The poor shield was dented and marred too, he knew. Hazel had done a number on it. "Funny thing is, he wasn't even the first guy I killed, I don't think. But he just… sticks there."

Roman froze at the console halfway to turning with a cigar in his hand, and for a moment Jaune thought he'd just leave.

Instead, he sighed, looking at Jaune seriously, "That's normal, kid. Life ain't like the damn movies, you don't remember the first person you ever kill sometimes. Nah, sometimes it's the first one to put up a fight, or put something at risk. I remember…" He trailed off, swearing under his breath, the image of a woman with silvery hair and red highlights and angry, hard blue eyes on the end of a knife flashing into his mind's eyes, one hand wrapped around his throat.

"Roman?" He asked, exchanging a worried look with with Neo, "You okay? Your mind… It's a storm, I can't-"

The door slid open, Pyrrha stepping through with a thin smile on her face, and everyone turned to her so quickly she actually flinched. " _What the hell.."_ "Uh, hi? How is everyone?"

"Just fine!" Roman cheered, a fake smile plastered on his face under dull eyes as he fast-walked to the door and through it, practically shoving Pyrrha aside before calling back, "Gonna go outside for a smoke, kid, best hurry the fuck up before someone shows up and just seems Roman Torchwick hanging around with a big ol' ship!"

"What's the matter with him?" Pyrrha asked quietly as the other two joined her at the door. "He seems… Off." " _Disturbed, almost."_ "Did something happen?"

"Just some more questions popping up I have no right to ask…" Jaune murmured bitterly, forcing a smile at Pyrrha. "Thank you, again, for coming with us. I know you wanted to go with Ren and Nora back to Beacon."

"My place is by your side, Jaune." She said soberly, eyes hard and appraising. He absentmindedly turned to hide the worst of his armor's damage, and the hard look turned mildly angry, grabbing his off shoulder so suddenly even Neo flinched and tensed, "You're trying to hide the damage. Why? Are you ashamed?"

"No, I just… It's ugly, isn't it? My armor is all scarred and broken up." He explained, gesturing at the ragged one across his breastplate.

"In Mistral, the scars upon our armor and bodies show our experience. The sacrifice of Huntsmen and Hutresses. Warriors." She said, releasing his shoulder and turning, looking over her shoulder at him as she walked away, "Wear yours with pride. Not shame." " _Not unless you are shamed by how you got them, or why."_

" _I agree."_ He looked at Neo, the small woman nodding curtly and threading her fingers between his, pulling the hand away from his sword's pommel, " _If you're ashamed of them, then that means you regret them. Regret me, and everything else. I don't mind mine."_

When they disembarked, Pyrrha staying in the cargo hold and out of sight for now so they didn't stir up any extra attention, they found Roman sitting on one of a few dozen fallen trees while the ships'- His, he reminded himself. They were his drones now, moving around under the ship and extracting the fallen trees to drag away so the ship wouldn't be damaged by them when it tried to move later. A half dozen fanned out with rifles in front of the ramp, and beyond them he could see a dozen soldiers approaching, their bright shields easily spotted even at this range.

"Hail, and well- Jaune Arc?" " _No way."_ The lead soldier started formally, shield locked firmly against the padded black gambeson he wore over the denim jeans. He nodded at the familiar young man, a new scar adorning the guard's face since he'd left on his chin, like an 'X' and messy black hair and matching eyes. The guard moved forward, and Jaune mirrored the action, the other man clapping his shoulder as he did so, "Jaune god damn Arc! I can't believe you're…"

He trailed off, and Jaune followed his eyes - and the other guards' - to Roman, and Jaune gave him a friendly shrug and pushed past him, "Don't worry, Alex, he's a friend of mine. Saved my life more times than I can count while I was at Beacon." He held up a hand when the guards started to ask him things, chuckling to himself, "I'll tell my dad everything, but no. Not a criminal."

Not technically, at least...

"But he is, Jaune." Alex said quietly, the man hopping off the log as a couple of droids moved to roll it away, the man puffing on a cigar and pretending to ignore them. Jaune knew better than that, even without his Semblance telling him for fact. "Regardless of your… personal affiliations with him, we have to at least disarm him and put him in a cell. Just until, you know, your dad okays him being here." " _Which he probably will, but still."_

"But-"

"It's fine, kid." Roman said as he approached them, cane twirling around on a finger idly. He shrugged when Jaune looked at him with a surprised expression, "Honestly, kinda expected it. Makes sense for the guards to at _least_ put me somewhere and get me away from you so you can talk to your old man. Got a lotta reasons to do it." " _In case I am threatening you or something, for example."_

"Thank you for being so…" Alex trailed off, chewing on the words almost and working his jaw, "Understanding? Cooperating? Whatever." He turned to the other guards, armed and garbed similarly to him with padded shirts and denim jeans, "Disarm him, cuff him and take him to solitary under the Hall. I want four guards on him at all times until we decide what to do with him."

"Sir, signal sent from Atlesian base requesting information on the ship they detected on approach." The guard looked meaningfully at Jaune, before turning back to him, "Should I just say it was friendly?" " _Kinda obvious…"_

"Yeah." Alex answered easily, taking Roman's cane from another soldier as the man was led away. He turned and tossed it to Jaune, who caught it easily enough that the man actually seemed surprised. "Finally cured that clumsiness? Because you look like you've been through a meat grinder."" _Or a metal one, given the state of your armor…"_ "And who is the girl?"

"Most of it is Grimm inflicted." Jaune answered, gesturing at the smaller scuffs and scratches before pointing at the ragged scar in the metal. " _This_ is from an Ex-Huntsman I had to fight. His axe carved right through my armor, like friggin' butter. A few more dents from a berserker I ran into, slammed a rock into my shield so hard the damn rocks dented my breastplate when they broke off."

"You fought Huntsman?" Alex asked as they started making their way up the hill, the guards surrounding Roman and escorting them as well as they could. They hadn't bet on needing a _prisoner_ escort, so they hadn't sent enough men and women for one. Jaune nodded and the guard laughed, a harsh barking laugh, "Holy shit, Jaune! Never knew you had it in you." _You used to be so scrawny, and crying every time you got bruised..."_

He almost argued, but caught himself before he could give away his Semblance, and forced a smile, "Y-Yeah. They were hard fights, too, but I won in the end. With neo's help, of course. I couldn't have gotten this far without her."

"You still haven't explained who she is." Alex observed sharply, Jaune chuckling.

"N-No, I didn't. She, well… She's…" He looked at Neo, trailing just behind him and watching Roman worriedly, and she turned to nod at him when she saw his look and the question in it. "She's my fiance, actually. We met after I left Beacon and-"

"A fiance!?" Alex shouted in surprise, looking the woman up and down appraisingly. Neo scowled at him when he leered at her chest, and Jaune stepped between them before he whistled lowly, "Gotta say, Jaune, I'm surprised you landed some a choice piece of-"

" _I'm going to castrate him."_ Neo snarked at him, flicking her umbrella up.

"No stabbing anyone." Jaune grunted, catching the umbrella with his off hand easily and turning a hard look on the other man before turning to resume their walk, "Please, don't talk about her like that. She's more dangerous than I am, and _will_ hurt you."

He smirked, thinking it a joke until he looked at Neo, and saw the barest bit of the blade she'd been unsheathing, and grew more serious.

"G-Got it, Jaune." Running ahead of them, he raised his spear and pointed at the gates, "Onward then! I get to deliver our wayward heir home, after all."

The rest of their walk was completed mostly in silence, until they finally reached the massive wooden gate, made of a dark colored oak wood from the forest. Jaune waved at the guards atop the wall when they recognized him, and they continued up to the town hall. The smells from the chimneys, the smell of the flowers growing in beds in back yards, the cool stone of the walls and walkways…

He'd missed home so much.

Closer up, the town hall became the more foreboding, intimidating thing it was meant to be by design. Dark stone walls rising up at the highest point in the settlement, dark metal reinforcements crawling up the walls and snared by vines, both crawling up to the roof of the building. The stone walls surrounding the entryway's perimeter furthered it, steel spikes jammed into the stone to defend against Grimm clambering over it, the vines crawling up but cleared away from the spikes themselves to keep them operating.

"Jaune's back, we're going inside to meet his parents." Alex informed the guards, who looked over Jaune for a minute before they nodded and pushed open the heavy door. Inside, two more guards looked at them and nodded, the soldiers escorting Roman leaving them alone. "I'll take you two inside, then I can radio them on what to do with Roman."

The Town Hall, or the Great Hall or just The Hall depending on who you asked, was empty when they entered of everyone except the two sets of guards at each of the doors, one to each side. Neither of them bothered to question them as they pushed past, and into the entry hall of the manor.

"Welcome to Arc Manor," He whispered to Neo, the small woman looking around. "You're home here as long as you, you know… Want to be."

Thick carpeting covered the floor, muted and warm browns highlighted by bronze along the trim, and numerous paintings of Arc family members broken up by small pedestals for weapons and armor, on most of which hung spears, axes, rifles, shields, a scimitar missing its end. Plated armor, leather curaisses, gambesons and brigandines were equally as numerous, accounting for generations of Huntsmen and Huntresses. They were placed close together, and Jaune watched Neo look at each one, before she reached the end of the showy entryway, a small sitting area with a large hearth against the furthest back wall of the manor, with two halls heading out to either side.

" _Where's this one?"_ She asked, gesturing to an empty pedestal where a sword and shield should have rested. He gave her a look, raising his eyebrows and inclining his head, and she made an 'O' with her mouth and looked at his waist, where Crocea Mors hung, " _You're a bad little boy, huh? Stealing from your family~!"_

"I borrowed it." He corrected halfheartedly, the girl raising an eyebrow at him and pursing her lips disbelievingly. "What? It's true. I intend to put it back when I don't need it anymore, and I like it. It even came with a shield, and you can't deny the whole knight motif doesn't suit me."

"You can understand her?" Alex asked, gesturing at the woman from behind him, and he almost jumped. He'd forgotten Alex had even stood there, and almost given himself away.

"Y-Yeah, we've been together for a while. I had to get good at understanding her, you know?" He gestured at her weakly, and she cocked her hip and crossed her arms. "Cuz, she's…. You know, mute?"

"She's mute?" " _And you still understand her?"_ "Sheesh, man, you must be psychic or something." He laughed and Jaune joined him, chuckling awkwardly while Neo enjoyed his predicament until the man calmed down and shook his head. "Anyways, I'll call in that you're here. But I have to get back to the wall for my patrols."

"No need, Alex, I'll tell mother and father he's here." Jaune sighed and turned, smiling at his sister as soon as she rounded the corner. He'd known she was there for a while, reading a book that was attached to a belt on her waist, but couldn't do much about it without giving himself away. "You can go back to your patrols." " _Preferably before you get more mud on the floor…"_

Alice Arc was a short woman, in a loose and short dress that ended at her thighs, with pale stockings hugging her legs up to the hips he knew. The dress was purple to match her name, and embroidered in bronze to match the last of it, Long, curly brown hair flowing down her back just past her waist and dark purple heels on her feet. A white sash wrapped around her stomach below her naval, and a string attached to a small flat piece of metal attached to the back of her hips led up to the book in her hand. One of only two 'civilians' in their entire family, and judging by her dress and demeanor, that hadn't changed. Nor had she, still he petite woman he remembered, with a small chest and rear.

"Yes, lady Alice." " _It would be the only bitchy Arc…"_ Alex said respectfully, he knew better than to act friendly towards the woman after all, even if his thoughts disagreed with the respect he showed. Turning on his heel, he offered Jaune a friendly nod before departing crisply.

"Alice." He said, the slightly smaller woman's brown eyes watching the soldier leave before stepping forward, turning to lean a shoulder against his chest so he could give her a hug. He gave her forehead a kiss and she smiled slightly, looking Neo up and down, "She's a friend of mine, Alice. Don't glare at her, please."

"I'm not glaring." Yes she was, but he didn't argue when she pulled away, and she was smiling warmly enough - for her at least - now anyways so he let it go, "And you brought a woman home." " _Which is odd. None of us even have men, but you brought a woman."_ "Odd."

" _Tell her."_ Neo pouted at him, hopping to his other side and hugging his arm against her chest and between her breasts.

"Well, uh, actually, this is Neo. My fiance."

He flinched when Alice smiled stiffly, turning her head to look at him and then Neo. "Your… fiance, you say? As in... the woman you wish to wed?" He nodded, and she very slowly pulled her book up, and thumped him on the head in time with each of her words, weakly due to her being a civilian but still, "You. Brought. Your. Fiance. And. Didn't. Warn. Us?" " _Mother is going to have a heart attack… Again… Great."_

"No?" He half asked weakly, the girl thumping him again. He sighed, shoulders slumping, and the girl raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "Fine, fine, yes. I… I can't get into it now, but I didn't have time to call. I've… been through a lot."

"I can tell." She mumbled, looking over his armor with a spark of worry in her mind. "You're… okay, right?" She looked to Neo, "He's okay, right?"

" _Eh."_ She thought, raising a hand and wobbling it with the palm facing down in a 'so so' motion before looking at Jaune, " _I like her."_

"I'm fine." Jaune sighed, shaking his head and pulling away from Neo, stepping into the sitting area and looking around. Bookshelves, cabinets and tables were arrayed around the room comfortably, with large brown couches and oaken end tables arrayed in a 'U' out from the fireplace, "Where are mom and dad, and the girls?"

"Opal and Olive are the only ones here, the rest are… Out." " _In the forest killing things, probably."_ She shrugged, stepping past him and easing onto one of the couches, pulling out her book and opening it to read. "Mother and Father are with them, in the study. I believe they are planning out trade finances and the like."

"And you'll be fine with Neo while I go see them?" Neo pouted at him and he raised a hand, pal towards her placatingly, "I just want to go see them, and bring them out here. It'll be more comfortable out here, and my mother might… Calm down a bit, if she knows who you are before she see you."

Neo, the traitor that she was, looked to Alice and the woman shrugged, "He means she won't break your spine with a hug or suffocate you with her breasts, mostly. She's very… touchy." " _And perverted, too. You'd think she would have grown out of it."_

"And given the state of your back, she needs that preparation." He swallowed nervously, touching a hand to his side absentmindedly. "And I… need to speak with them myself, first. We didn't leave on very good terms, you know?"

Down the hall, at the far end of the right wing of the manor, a door slammed against a wall and Jaune flinched at the deep, bass voice that echoed down the hall towards him, "Jaaaaaaaune!"

"Too late…" Alice said with a smirked, "I guess Alex sent them a message."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"How does it work?" Adam asked quietly, standing in the abandoned warehouse they'd moved into after Mountain Glenn fell to Atlas, deep in the seedy underbelly of Vale's industrial area. People here didn't give a damn who rented their buildings, and they'd set it up as best they could. Thick layers of plywood separating the warehouse into a living area at the front, the entrance from outside opening into the cantina - as the grunts called it - and behind that were the bunks, six men and women to a room. Behind that was his quarters and the strategy room, and beyond even that was where they stood. A laboratory at the back, where part of the factory rested under ground, where they'd layered metal onto the plywood for safety's sake.

"Well, sir…" The reptilian faunus murmured quietly, shoulders hunched on the other side of the small table, pointing at the dark red powder in the clear glass case, "You know that red Dust in powdered form tends to cause us Faunus' health problems in the Schnee mines, yes?"

"Of course." Adam answered, growling it out.

How could he not? Dust, while being mined out, tended to toss a small - relatively - amount of the Dust into the air as, well, Dust dust. Some was mostly harmless, white Dust only really caused a cough and green a fever, but Red and Yellow both ate away at the throat and lungs. It corroded them and while the Schnees did hand out gas masks and air filters, that would never be enough. The Dust ate through that too, quickly enough that it almost didn't matter.

"Well, this compound is a mixture of the two and a basic aerosol mechanism, to spray it in the air." He shrugged under his heavy jacket and smiled under the worn White Fang mask, chipped and pockmarked from the man's older experiments, "It doesn't last long, I fear, but it does the job very well. Blast a place with this, or get it in a ventilation system, and you'll wreak a large amount of damage over a small area."

"How large an area?" Adam asked, resting a hand on the glass top. It felt warm, probably from the Dust, and Adam hummed at that.

"Only about twenty feet out from the initial dispersal, unfortunately." The other Faunus sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I tried adding more Dust and aerosol, and the first didn't go very far while the second spread it too thin to be any use."

"So we'd need multiple stages of detonation, and secondary detonations on other packages to keep the area saturated enough for an effective strike." Adam rattled off, years of experience doing these things coming to the fore. Turning to the other, small Faunus, "Do we have enough Dust and aerosol for that?"

"Not right now, no. Not unless you only want to attack a single home." The Faunus chuckled, shaking his head and gesturing at the case, only about as large as the former dinner table resting under it. "That is enough for a single two stage bomb system. It'll hospitalize everyone there, sure, but after that? Nada."

"I'll get us more, then. Of both." Adam assured easily, the other Faunus nodding gratefully as he turned to leave. "Get me a list of items you can extract the aerosol compound from, I'll get my soldiers to start looking for places to secure Dust from."

"I need to know your target." The Faunus said to his back, the swordsman pausing in the door and looking over his shoulder.

"No, you don't. You just need to know it is big, and has a lot of people." The other Faunus quirked his head, and shrugged, and Adam left with a thin smile on his face. "The irony… killing the Humans with what Faunus suffer in their mines."

Irony was sweeter than any sugar, sometimes.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I don't understand why I had to stay on the ship, with you." Pyrrha grunted, sighing sadly in the cargo hold and leveling a glare at Cinder, leaning on the same crate with her head bowed and eyes closed.

"Because, Nikos, you are famous. If you go out there, you will stir up a hornet's nest. And the media will find out. And when they find out, they will come here to see you." she let that hang for a moment, smirking when the Mistralian Champion sighed defeatedly. "Just be still, and calm. Master will deal with what he needs to and return for us when he has use for us."

"You're the slave, not me." Pyrrha growled quietly, resting her foot on her knee and lying back on the crate she was lying on. "I am his friend. Loyal to him by choice alone. _You_ are his puppet."

"Yes, and I am happy where and what I am." She mused quietly, listening to the forest around them and the machines doing their work outside the open. "Are you happy with what you are, though?"

"Yes."

"Don't lie to me, Nikos." Cinder snapped hotly, turning to look at her. "You want far more than you have. You're greedy, possessive, and want to take what you can to get what you want. Believe me, I know greed when I see it. And I see it in your eyes whenever you look at Master and Lady Neo."

"I don't-"

"I see the jealousy." Cinder cut her off, pushing off the crate and turning to look at Pyrrha more fully. "Master is an empath, you must know he feels it rolling off you whenever you pass. But he's too good a man to probably recognize your envy."

"And you're better than me?" Pyrrha demanded, hopping down from her spot on the crate and stepping up to the woman, close enough their chests touched and Pyrrha's breath blew across Cinder's face. "You don't feel the same? You don't want more from this entire situation than just being some… tool to fight for him?"

"No. I do not." Cinder said simply, Pyrrha blinking at the frank honesty in her voice and stepping back when Cinder pushed her chest forward and the Champion was forced to either move or make an image from a teenager's online browsing habits come close to true. "I want Master happy, safe and to serve his needs. If he wanted me on my back or my knees, bare as I was born, I would do it. Whether for him or someone else, and I would _enjoy_ serving him. And if he wants me putting _other_ people on their backs and in the ground? I will do that as well. And I am happy regardless, simply to serve him."

Pyrrha was quiet for a long moment, eyes searching CInder's face for… something, before she sighed, "Fine. Just…"

"There is no shame in jealousy, Pyrrha." Cinder said quietly, laying a hand on her cheek before turning and heading into the ship's interior, calling over he shoulder, "If you wish to talk, and… work thought this, I will help you. Simply follow me."

"Wait." Pyrrha called, the woman pausing and looking over her shoulder, "Why would you help me?"

"Helping you serves Master's safety and happiness." She said simply, shrugging and continuing on her way. After a seconds' further hesitation, and a look over her own shoulder at Ansel, Pyrrha followed.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"It is as I said, Oscar." The voice in his head said simply, the boy resting his head on his knees where he sat on his small, lumpy mattress. Trying his damndest to ignore the voice entirely. "I am important to the fate of the world, and without your help, it may-"

"You're not real." He growled at the voice, Ozpin sighing where he was nestled in his mind. "P-People don't hear voices, people don't jump around to other bodies, s-so you're not real. And magic doesn't exist either!"

"Yes, it does, Oscar." He said patiently, even in the urgent situation that existed in the world. He'd done this a hundred thousand times and more, and this was but a stepping stone as all of them had been in the end. "The lack of knowledge on it is entirely a product of my creation as well, and I apologize for the needed deception."

"Why?" He demanded, Ozpin fully expecting the question. "Why lie, why hide it? People deserve to know!"

"Yes, they do." Ozpin agreed, sighing weakly, "But they deserve to live far, far more. Now if you will just-"

"No!" Oscar moaned weakly, squinting his eyes closed, "Y-You're not real."

Even if it was normal, it was still an unfortunate pain to go through.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune's father stood easily a foot taller than Jaune himself, with thick, corded muscles on his arms and legs and hard muscles on his chest. Shirtless in his own home, his body was covered in small scars of a wide variety, all across his entire body. Loose, black cloth pants and sandals covered his lower half, a thick, golden beard stretching down his chest and stomach in a myriad of braids to touch the top of his pants' waist, his golden mane braided into three thick ropes laying down his back and beyond his pants slightly. Bright blue eyes, set into a tanned face wrinkled from years of smiling, gave him a jolly look.

Which didn't dissuade Jaune from trying to evade the tree trunk arms wrapping around him, even if the hug was surprisingly gentle, and crushing him against his bearded chest as the great man kissed his forehead and fell to his knees, holding the young man close, a wave of emotions Jaune couldn't fully understand slamming into him. "My boy is home… Safe and sound."

"And he brought his fiance as well, father." Alice cooed, though Jaune could more than tell that it was meant for his mother rather than his father as the older woman joined them, and Jaune flinched at that and tried to pull away, sensing his mother's attention suddenly shift to the small woman.

His mother was Mistralian born and originally named Ten Shiro, with naturally darker skin tones than anyone in Vale naturally tended to have and dark, warm eyes set in an eastern face with long, straight dark hair. Wearing a simple and plain white gown, with only a slight swell to her bust and the wide hips of a mother, she was a civilian through and through.

Previously, she'd lived as a clerk in a hospital in a small border town in Mistral, where she'd met his father after he was gored by a Boarbatusk. Two dates and one evening that had left Shiro unable to walk, and she'd agreed to come with him to Ansel.

"A _fiance_ you say?" " _That's certainly shocking… And definitely going to be a good show."_ His father rumbled, turning to smirk knowingly at his wife after giving Neo a once over. "What do you think, dear?"

The older woman hummed, and Jaune sighed, "Just... be gentle with her, mom. She got hurt bad in a fight a while back, she can't even sleep on her back for a while yet."

" _Your mom is looking at me weird, Jaune."_ Neo sent to him, making a show of moving her hands in a way that she and he hope would be seen as some form of Signing. His mother stepped behind her, grabbing her hips and squeezing, and Neo jumped away in surprise, " _What is she doing?"_

"She wants to know what you're doing, mom." Jaune sighed as he passed the message.

"Why, I'm making sure she's fit enough for the usual Arc treatment that she should expect." She explained, eying the petite woman up for a moment. "Her hips aren't all that wide. Not very good for childbearing." " _Especially given how like your father you are…"_

" _Child bearing?!"_

"We haven't really… Thought about kids." Jaune argued, grunting as he pulled free of his father and moved to Neo's side protectively, just as his mother had stepped forward with her hands raised at Neo's chest. "Be nice."

"I was." She argued, backing up a step and smiling when Jaune put an arm around her shoulder, "And no Arc thinks about having kids. But a woman can only spend so long on her knees with him in her before-"

"Mom!" Alice and Jaune both shouted weakly, Neo actually chuckling and pulling him towards a couch seat.

"Now, now," his father started with a loud laugh, "Everyone, relax, take a seat. Alicia, go and get your sisters from the study. I made them finish their worksheets." She nodded respectfully and rose, heading there to retrieve the twins, and he looked Jaune over more carefully, eyes sharp and concerned even when Neo slid into Jaune's lap, though he noted that the young man simply held her hips rather than get flustered. "Now, care to tell me why the armor you stole is torn and dented?"

A story indeed.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Beta Notes:_

 _Ha, I knew you guys were gonna pull through, now I'm gonna try to make it happen,wish me luck._

 _Adios,_

 _Volte_

 **Feckin' hell.**

Mika- Meeeeehhhhh….

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Hikari Niwa :**_

 **Yeah, she is kinda adorable.**

 _ **Bukkake No Jutsu :**_

 **Yus~!**

 _ **Night Raider :**_

 **Yus, more indeed~!**

 _ **Arukon :**_

 **I work as quick as I can, friend.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **Oh hell no, she doesn't have any idea.**

 _ **KillKill123100 :**_

 **Shhhh, it's fine~!**

 _ **Blazin Hot Head :**_

 **They weren't doing much worth their own section.**

 _ **Zenith Tempest :**_

 **See the above~!**

 _ **Scott USA :**_

 **Welcome~! Thanks for reading~!**

 _ **Wyatt More :**_

 **S'why there's a sequel~**

 _ **Agent Draakis :**_

 **Kinda share that theory, but thank you. I will accept an offered compliment.**

 _ **Chee Puff X :**_

 **It is a surprisingly large bandwagon, I am finding.**

 _ **Cat Poster :**_

 **No, sadly. That lack is why I wrote this, and Couer's omak like… two years ago?**

 _ **Jazz Rapper :**_

 **Thanks~! And all I shall say is all shall be revealed in time~**

 _ **Vail Ryuketsu :**_

 **Yeah, I liked the twist when I thought it up a year ago. Seemed neat so I fleshed it out.**

 _ **Mo Eazy :**_

 **Take it as eons of not communicating her emotions properly.**


	2. The Knight's First Move

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings**

 **Shadie**

 **Emperor King Perby**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The Arc Hall, or the Arc Fire Hall, was the meeting point for the Arc clan, a wide horseshoe shaped black leather couch with a matching horseshoe table in the middle of it and another, smaller couch on the other side, the couches covered in furs supplied from the hunters in the area. The dark oaken table was reinforced along the legs with the cheap iron from the area, too impure and weak to use in weapons and armor but plenty strong for making basic furniture. Lights dotted the table's surface, warmly glowing glass bulbs atop candlesticks fashioned in an older style, matched by the chandelier hanging from above. On the outer side of the inner horseshoe couch were more seats, carved wood with padded fur on either side of a smaller couch the same style as the chairs, wide enough for five people to sit on it with a short coffee table in front of it, between it and the dark stone hearth. Thicker carpeting covered the floor here in a dark brown with swirling golden patterns, the bookshelves and other assorted pieces placed along designed to serve as 'pots' for the vine-like patterns.

Jaune sat on the innermost couch, Neo curled up next to him in a thick fur blanket she loved with her legs hanging over his lap, the blonde man rubbing her outer thigh with his thumb idly, the girl smirking at him with her legs comfortably propped up by the arm of the couch. His father dragged a chair close to the hearth, watching the fire crackle and stoking it, with his mother in a chair on the other end of the couch he sat on. Alicia sat next to her, legs folded under her on the couch and reading quietly. Jaune's breastplate lay on the couch on Neo's other side, the girl propping herself up with it and layered furs like a pillow.

He took his time, explaining everything in detail to them and answering their questions as they came. And, to their credit and his surprise, the only interruption came from Alicia, when he mentioned Pyrrha as his partner. The silence stayed until he mentioned the Maiden, and his father had to interrupt.

"Who would possibly believe that?" His father interrupted, guffawing loudly and slamming a hand on his knee, "The bloody damn Queen of Grimm, and she wants to sleep with _you_? Hah!" " _A good story, at the least."_

"It's a lot… more complicated than that, dad." He sighed, looking at the fire as he thought back on Salem. "Her emotions… She may not have understood the yearning, but she's not after some screw. She's lonely, all alone at the top of the world for eons. I don't know how, but she intends for me to join her up there, on that mountain."

"You must admit that your story is... " His mother seemed to search for words, " _Deceptive, clearly fake, untrue, but why would he say such a blatant lie?"_ "Hard to just… believe. Half of it on its face challenges the very core of the world as we know it."

"And how do you think I reacted to it?" He asked simply, "First Amber under Beacon, then Ozpin wanting to basically weaponize me against…. I don't even know, really, he didn't tell me everything. My point is you're having trouble believing it, imagine having to live it. Why would I say something that you just thought of as 'clearly fake' and 'a blatant lie'?"

"How did you-"

"Know what you were thinking?" Jaune finished for his mother with a smirk, "I told you, I can read minds. Pyrrha has Maiden power as does Cinder, on my Atlesian warship. Ozpin is… Dead, I think, so I can't prove that, and we are _not_ going to see Salem. So, dad, do what I know you're thinking and have security double check what I'm saying. Or, now that I _said that_ we can go there ourselves."

"Fine. Just fine. How about we go and see these people you brought then, hm?" His father suggested sarcastically, standing and looking at his wife's calm face for a moment. "Stay with the twins, keep an eye on them. Make sure they study the way they should." " _Someone like him isn't safe to be around…"_

"Neo can stay here too. Rest up." She pouted at him cutely, hurling curses at him mentally, and he smirked and gave her a peck on the cheek. Neo responded by flailing as he stood and turned to deposit her on the couch, wrapping her in the warm furs affectionately. "Sorry, but the doctor did say you needed to rest whenever I could help it."

" _I'll bite you if you try to kiss my cheek again."_ She threatened when he leaned in, the blonde chuckling and backing away with his hands in the air in mock surrender. Sparing a glance at his damaged breastplate, it took real effort to leave it behind. " _Bring food!"_

"I will." He answered Neo's demand, his father raising an eyebrow as he joined the man at the start of the hallway. "Neo wants food, asked me to bring some back for her. She might be small, but Dust be false if she can't put away food like _you_ can."

"Hmph." The titan of a man grunted, Jaune following behind him while he thought through everything he'd been told. Jaune could have defended himself against the accusations and suspicions, could have argued with him and used that to prove his claims at least as far as his Semblance went. But…

But he refused to, he found. And that brought some comfort to the young knight, that he was still willing to risk a loss for something like avoiding manipulating someone. Regardless of how important things were, he was still able to put a person's right to their own mind ahead of his own needs and wants.

Now he just had to hope to whatever gods that be that Karma was a thing.

"So." His father started as they walked through the streets, ignoring the crowds as they parted around them, on their way to trade, mine or purify the materials. A few Atlesian scouts, resting before returning to their base further out towards the ocean, milled about idly on their way to the huntsman lodge before leaving again. "She's your... Fiance, eh?" " _The hell did that happen?"_ "How'd you two, you know… Meet. You never mentioned it, not in any detail, and if she's to be an Arc…"

"Remember the assassin I mentioned? She… poisoned Pyrrha and kidnapped me, for Salem? Well, for _Cinder_ , but on Salem's orders or… At her wishes, I guess?" He shrugged, his father staring at him like he'd grown a third head along with the second as soon as he'd made the link. "What?"

"So she _kidnapped you_ and you want to marry her?" " _Daft, crazy, horny bastard…"_ Jaune nodded at the question, and the man shook his head. "Well, at the least, you're certainly crazy enough to be a Huntsmen. Wait, isn't Cinder _with_ you?"

"I… used my Semblance's effect to brainwash her, kinda." Jaune sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as they approached the gate and the guards saluted while it groaned open. "I didn't _want to_ but it was the only way to win and not tip off Salem. If Cinder never reported in and my ship showed up on the continent's perimeter, she'd have sent her dragons or something."

"The same woman who wants to sleep with you?" He asked skeptically, Jaune shrugging and sighing.

"Yeah, kind of didn't know that at the time. I only found out after we all showed up to the suicide mission to kill her." His father grunted, clearly waiting for more on that, and Jaune shrugged. "What? Fighting Grimm is Huntsman's duty, and we were a ship full of them. And we knew where the Queen of the Grimm was. The chance to end all this…"

They left that there when they approached his ship, one of the drones milling about defensively approaching the duo with a rifle in its hands, "Arc, Jaune. Perimeter secured, liftoff possible when desired."

"Send for Pyrrha and Cinder, tell them my father wants to meet them." Jaune ordered, the drone buzzing a reply and sending the message along to a closer one to handle the order. "How is the forest nearby?"

"Minimum Grimm activity. They are avoiding our units as we secure the perimeter of the landing area and fortify it with timber." The drone reported, "Would you like us to engage them?"

"No." Jaune answered quickly, shaking his head and looking at his father.

"The Grimm are acting strange, avoiding rather than attacking the droids." He observed, dissatisfied by the implication. " _Why would they act that way? It's not normal…"_ He looked at Jaune for a moment, and Jaune looked back with his arms crossed, damaged arm pieces and dented shoulder pads still on his arms and an image of the rent and scarred breastplate flashing through his mind, coupling with the Grimm not even _trying_ to attack the droids in their territory… "Shit, son."

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called brightly as she swiftly descended the ramp, shuffling her feet in an awkward run down the slanted surface in her heels while Cinder followed behind, far more reserved. She came to a stop in front of Jaune's father, the massive man's bare chest intimidating for anyone. " _Far too bulky for my tastes, Jaune. I much prefer the new and improved version."_ Except her, it seemed. "Sir. You're Jaune's father, I presume?"

"You do so correctly, Miss." He answered, polite and full of exuberance at the girl. Even if it was partially forced, he still warmed the room. Er, area actually, he supposed. "And you have to be Pyrrha, right? Jaune told me a lot about you and your…" he paused to regard Cinder, making her way down the ramp far more elegantly with a hand on her hip and her off hand hanging relaxedly, "Friend?"

"It is a pleasure to meet my master's father." Cinder said coolly, practically purring the words and offering him a hand to shake when she had reached them. He hesitantly shook it, and she turned to Jaune, "Are things going well, Master?"

" _Master?"_ "Uh, Jaune… I have a question." His father asked, as Jaune could have expected, turning to look at him and gesturing at her with a jerk of his head. "Your, uh, friend has a neat, um, nickname for you." " _what Kinda kinky shit are you all into, Oum above…"_

"N-Nothing like that, dad!" He yelled in surprise, the two women raising their eyebrows at him curiously. "We're not into anything kinky, relax."

"Quite. I offered myself to Master and he refused me in favor of Neo. I suppose he likes her figure a bit more than mine." His father blinked at the woman, slowly turning to Jaune as his eyebrows climbed his forehead, and Jaune sighed when Cinder added. "What?"

"What the hell is even going on..." His father said, sighing weakly and turning, "Fine, let's go get your criminal friend out of the cells. You can all stay, until I think up what to do next." " _Complicating things, as usual, Jaune…"_

"Roman was imprisoned, Master?" Cinder asked politely, the two trailing behind them with some space between the women. Enough to concern Jaune, given then tension Pyrrha felt between the two of them. He nodded, and she smirked, "Well, at least he feels at home here already."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Beath the Town Hall of Ansel, a small jail had been dug out and placed. Secure enough for almost everyone that Ansel itself would have to incarcerate, with thick iron bars and cells lining each wall on either side of the door leading in, the simple wooden beds and tables. Simple, workable, a testament to being made for necessity on the frontier. A place where everything was built for a purpose, and nothing was wasted todo it.

Of course, Roman had been forced into one, with an aging guard sitting at a simple work desk in the middle of the room, working on reports and generally watching him, and resisted barbing the old man. Or breaking down the cells, these pathetic iron things couldn't hold someone with Aura. Honestly, did these people even _have_ something for them to deal with Huntsman with? So Roman lay there, back starting to ache as the simple bed wore on it, fluorescents bothering him enough that he eventually rolled his hat off his head and onto his face and puffed at the cigar that the guard had demanded he put out, though done nothing about when he ignore him.

Hearing the entry door open, the metal thing clanging loud enough to have woken him were her asleep easily, he turned his head and cracked an eye open, Jaune and his massive father approaching the cell quietly.

Well, aside from the thudding of the older Arc's massive Gods damned feet.

"Kid. Old man of the kid's." He drawled in a faux-tired fashion that he knew fooled precisely no one, kicking his feet a bit as he turned and sat up on the edge of the bed. "Take it you're here to interrogate me?"

"Jaune told me his whole story. Didn't believe him, it was so… Insane that I couldn't quite buy it as being the truth." The man chuckled when Jaune rolled his eyes and sighed, as though suffering a great deal of something. Likely annoyance, given Roman's disposition currently. "I…" He spared Jaune a glance, grimacing as he realized what Roman had begun adjusting to, "I still can't buy it. But at least _most_ of it has to be true, and he's my son. And, if that much is true, then you saved his life. Why?"

"For purely selfish reasons, I assure you." He said with a wide, flamboyant shrug, throwing his arms open and holding his palms up with a smirk. When neither twitched, Jaune raising an eyebrow, he sighed. "Fine, fine, ruin my fun why don't you… Cinder had me by the balls, and I knew how our deal ended. I saw an out and took it."

And damn if that hadn't worked out. Out from under Cinder, Salem off his heels - at least supposedly, he still had questions for the smitten Spartan student-turned-Maiden - and now he was looking at a life scott free of his worries. All thanks to Neo bending over a table and letting someone hit it, and if he'd know that, he would have tried to-

Jaune coughed into his palm, crossing his arms, and Roman laughed it off, "Sorry, kid, just my train of thought' derailing as always and piling through the pedestrians that are my hopes and dreams." Turning back to the larger, elder Arc before they could even think of commentings, he continued, "Long and short, started out selfish. Neo fell for the psychic little shit you spawned, and now I'm stuck with him. Can't leave Neo, she won't leave _him_ so, I can't either. Simple, see?"

"Can we trust him?" The elder Arc asked Jaune with an exasperated and simultaneously highly agitated tone, massive arms crossed over his chest.

"As long as you have something he wants."

"As long as you have something I want." The two stared at each other for a couple seconds when they answered simultaneously, and Roman was the first to speak. "Kid, do me a favor, don't fucking do that. Hard enough to wrap my head around you without you being _in it_ at the same time, yeah?"

"Sorry, Roman. My... I never named that, actually." Jaune realized suddenly, blinking at the thief as the realization dawned. Looking at his father to explain, "I can… read people, when they talk, fight, whatever. And kind of… copy them, if I don't try too hard to do it. I just sort of… pick up on it and use it."

"Osmosis, in biology at least." Roman offered, getting a strangely surprised look from the two blondes. He approached the cell door and leaned against the railing next to it, "What? Just because I'm a damn thief, I have to be an idiot? I will have you know, I was top of my class in science and mathematics. Both very handy tools for an aspiring thief. Bombs, running figures, managing things like that requires a good grasp on things and you wouldn't _believe_ how often my studying botany has been useful."

"Botany?" Jaune asked in surprise, Roman chuckling.

"Yeah, out in the field, ate little safehouses in small settlements and stuff like that?" He clucked his tongue and shook his head, eyebrows raising, "Be surprised how eager some people are for a trained botanist. Help 'em, figure out farming schedules, maybe show 'em some good forage in the area. That kind of thing. They paid pretty good, sometimes in Lien. Other times, room and board. Sometimes a particularly desperate place would offer up a few choice ladies."

The two gave him unimpressed looks and he shrugged, "What? Where else am I going to find pretty young things to have a night out with? Besides, it was rare. _And_ I always asked in private if they were actually okay with everything. Usually left some Lien or something else extra for 'em too. I'm a thief, not a bastard. I might have been up for a roll in the hay, maybe steal some virtues, but I'm not going to let someone get forced into that."

There was a pause before Jaune tilted his head, "He's telling the truth, actually. He means what he's saying completely, and nothing in his head betrays any hint of making up anything."

"In my head again~" Roman singsonged with an irritated sigh, "Keep it up and I will buy Neo a bullwhip."

Jaune froze.

Jaune's father turned to look at him.

Roman smirked.

"Don't joke like that." Jaune whispered weakly, turning to his father, "Can you… Let him out now?"

"Yeah, I guess he's not too much of a threat." The older man said, turning to the guard, "Oi! Let him out." He turned back to Roman, nodding politely, "My man will bring you to the Hall shortly and we'll discuss what comes next for everyone involved in… This, whatever you want to call it. The name is Jacques Arc."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune returned to his seat, Neo plopping her legs across his lap a bit more forcefully than strictly necessary, and both Pyrrha and Cinder walking a bit quicker than normal in an effort to sit closer to him by Neo's head. Pyrrha won that race and, smirking victoriously, watched Cinder stalk past her and ease onto the arm of the couch, laying her arm along the back of the couch and leaning towards Jaune with a satisfied smile and a bust a bit closer than he liked. Wisely, Roman plopped onto the couch behind him, reclining on it to listen to them talk.

Neo found it hilarious, especially when Pyrrha huffed and crossed her arms, "Pathetic, vain seductress." " _Sitting on the arm… Simply improper."_

"I wish to be seated next to Master." Cinder said simply with a hand across her stomach, the fingertips brushing against his shoulder, relaxing further and smirking at Pyrrha. Jaune noted his mother and Alicia both stiffen and look to his father for an answer, the massive man simply shrugging and shaking his head as though to say 'nothing for it.' "I was simply clever enough to think of it. Don't blame me, learn from me. Be cleverer than your opponent." She spared him a glance when he looked up at her, past her bust, and she inclined her head at him respectfully. " _Regardless of the place, this is a valuable learning tool, Master. Don't intervene."_

"Girls, spare everyone the drama." He ordered sternly, the two omen balking at the hard tone and sharp eyes he shot at them. Pyrrha blinked and flushed, looking at her lap, and Cinder flinched away slightly, pulling her chest far enough away from Jaune for him to relax. "Mom, Alicia, I'll explain Cinder in more exact detail later, I promise. For now, though…"

"We have things to discuss." He looked at Alicia, raising an eyebrow, "Huntsman business. Not civilian. Go and keep the twins company and under control. They must be nearing the end of their assignments, and they can't come in here and interrupt us." " _Even if they just want to see Jaune."_

Sighing, Alicia rose and followed her mother out. Jaune at least waited until they were gone before giving in to the urge to argue, "They had every right to stay and talk about this too. It involves them."

"The strong become leaders, Huntsman and soldiers. The weak are civilians, to be protected and sheltered in all cases and without malice." Jacques qouted, retaking his seat by the fire and sighing at the pleasant warmth. "The Arc creed, older than Ansel itself, and it has served us and those under us well. When you're the head of the family, assuming you beat out your sisters, you can be rid of it if you want. I will not, and you will respect that. Especially seeing as you want us to take you in as guests, after everything, as I am sure you need."

Jaune couldn't argue that, sliding a hand up and down Neo's thigh unconsciously. A gesture more of comfort and recognition than anything, and hidden under her enough that no one could even tell. "Fine then. What do you think we should do about… Everything?"

"Honestly?" He asked with a heavy sigh, shaking his bearded head and scratching at his beard absently. "I have no idea, beyond playing a waiting game and seeing what happens. I won't report Roman being here, and I'll order my people against it, but someone may let the word out anyways. And that's beyond anyone from Beacon and Atlas looking for you, Jaune. You'll need to lie low for a while, here is safer than most places."

He'd known that already, of course, but at least he knew he had permission then. "Not many options I guess..." Jaune agreed, shrugging lightly, "What do you want us to do, though? I have a warship, drones… I could make a major difference, around here, you know?"

"Nothin'." " _People wouldn't take kindly to what looks like Atlas stealing their work."_ His father said simply after a second, shrugging his mighty shoulders. "Walls secure, farms are staffed fully, mines are running like clockwork."

"We do need income though, unless you want me and Neo to start robbin' places…" Roman said simply, the meaning clearer to everyone but Jaune when he started puffing on a cigarette.

They needed income to maintain things, to keep things running and financed. The ship needed fuel and ammo, the droids did too, as well as maintenance for both. Not to mention money for himself, and his people now that he _had_ people under his control... "We need income, and a lot of it, for my ship and my droids as is."

"I'll see what I can do." His father sighed, "No promises can be made though, you know that. The ways things are in the world..." " _Especially out here…"_ "All I can promise is to do my best to get you something profitable to do."

"Maybe cargo hauling?" Cinder suggested coolly, "The ship has a large hold and good engines. Does the Arc family _have_ a shipping company under its name?" " _Of course not, their Huntsmen."_

"No, we're fighters." His father answered simply, "Anyone can't fight runs the house and financing."

"Then we'll do that." Jaune said, smiling widely and looking to Neo when she yawned involuntarily. "It's getting late though. We should probably wrap up for now, right, dad? I'd hate to keep you any longer than I already have."

He nodded, "Yeah, go back to your ship for now. I'll see about getting some goods to you." " _Normally contract out transport of the size we need…"_ "Might take a week or so, though. Do you have the Lien to keep running until then?"

"No, we do not." Roman sang, hands gesturing at the sky, "Sadly, with the evil queen of the damned, magical girls and big black monsters, we forgot to check on our severance packages. Well, not really, but the severance packages they offered were a bit… Rude. Especially for me, I like my head where it is."

"Yes, it's much better than the alternative." His father growled, shaking his head. "Get out of here then, I'll send word when I have something." " _If I have something, more like…"_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Our son has some… interesting acquaintances." Jacques grunted an affirmation to his wife's words, staring into the fire as he thought. "We have a large quantity of Dust in storage that needs to be shipped, and our previous supplier is… Not usable."

Swarmed by Nevermore over the water between he continents, much to the loss of several settlements along the coast. Jacques had told him a thousand times not to travel alone in that freighter of his, it couldn't move well enough and its defense guns were shite against anything smaller than a Giant Nevermore… And now he was out a main supplier.

"I know." Jacques sighed, "I'm deciding if I should trust him with all of it. He stole from us, ran away, lied to people where he went… And comes right back here, like he didn't do anything wrong."

"Maybe he didn't." She said simply, the man turning a scowl at her that she smirked at and did nothing else. "You always said, might makes a Huntsman. Yet here he is, stronger than many and with a litany of accomplishments under his belts."

"A litany of _claims_ , not accomplishments." Jacques, corrected weakly, and both knew he was aware of how flimsy it was. Even what _had_ been proven already was substantial, and that Jaune presented himself so confidently told more of the story. "He's changed, a lot."

"Perhaps you were wrong about more than just what a Huntsman ought be, dear." She said, resting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. As much to show earnest affection as to assure him she didn't mean the words in insult. " _Perhaps_ you should give him a chance."

Jacques was quiet for a moment, "He must know I was lying when I said I didn't know if I would have something for him."

"Almost certainly, given his Semblance." She agreed.

"Damn it…" Sometimes, he hated Semblances. "I'll talk to him when he's had some time to rest. He looks like he needs it. His fiance as well, I can tell just by how she moves that she's hurt. A stiffness in her gait, like she's scared to hurt herself."

"Just be kind to him, Jacques." She said sweetly, "He's your only son, after all. He only wants to make you proud."

"I know, dear." And that would get him killed, Jacques was sure, which was why he was so against all of this… But it was too late now. "Believe me, I know."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Sir." Winter started, stepping into Ironwood's personal quarters, several fighters on patrol soaring past in a window behind the general. The man looked up to her from his paperwork, nodding for her to speak and she did, hands clasped behind her back and heels together at attention, "Sir, reports from the northern part of the continent have just arrived from a defensive fortification near a small settlement called Ansel."

"Ansel?" James asked, reclining in his chair and scratching his chin, "Small mining and shipping settlement, right?"

"Yes, sir." Winter answered crisply, "It is also Jaune Arc's hometown. As soon as he went missing, I sent a Tier One order to maintain a watch for him. As we also know, and as I added in an addendum, he has a ship. An Atlesian frigate, which has been sighted on approach but not departure to Ansel. As such, the officer there monitoring on my behalf sent a Tier One report to me."

"I see." James said in response, looking at the screen where a fleet report and assessment rested. Atlas' fleet had taken a hit, a large flock of flying Grimm in the area assaulting the region and forcing them into action, an issue which had spiked across Remnant for a day before petering out. "Jaune went missing, and then when we try and stage a rescue, he runs. Then, after his ship vanishes into the Grimm continent, this happens."

"You are referring to the attacks on the Kingdoms, sir?" Winter asked, the man nodding simply. "You think it is a linked event then, sir?"

"Whenever we have sent ships there, they have never returned. Jaune seems to have gone there, and yet his ship is in Ansel now, by your reports." James observed simply, raising his eyebrows at her, "Do you think it _isn't_ linked?"

Winter was quiet for a few seconds, thinking, before she sighed, "No, Sir, I agree with you. It's too obvious to be a coincidence."

James grunted in response and pressed a key on the computer to dismiss the documents, "Then I want you to gather your things and go to Ansel. See if he is there and, if he is, make contact with him. All other orders and assignments are to be disregarded at this time, I want you to find Jaune Arc. Apprehend him if possible and you deem it necessary, and if not, find out what his allegiances are."

"Yes, sir." She responded, saluting and turning to leave.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **[Archive Entry 009752] Atlesian Classification Systems**_

 _ **XxX Advisory : Do not view Classification Dossiers and regulations without proper clearance. Any persons viewing this document without prior and proper authorization will be imprisoned. Thank you, have a nice day. XxX**_

 **Atlesian Classification codes are used to designate materials as being viewable to specific ranks, until a certain classification level at which point that becomes even more restricted to specific people. It is common for a higher Tier, the moniker used for the naming system, document to only actually be viewable by a few people. Even the Council can be barred from a document, if classified high enough.**

 **The Tiers start at Tier One-Hundred, increasing with importance and level as the number decreases. At Tier Ten documents cease to hold rank privilege, and instead address specific people. These documents include everything from orders and mission reports, to alerts and monitoring advisories.**

 **A Tier Ten order, for example, may be to monitor a high threat Grimm grouped in an area that is not alerted and therefore would ensue a panic in the ranks, or they may be ordered to watch for a ship suspected of criminal activities but one which is simply being monitored in the hopes of finding bigger fish through following it.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Hikari Niwa :**_

 **Surprise~!**

 _ **Approximation of Humanity :**_

 **Good idea~!**

 _ **Alcatraz Firewall :**_

 **Glad you enjoy it. Still… practicing, trying to refine, but glad you at least enjoy it.**

 _ **Scrub Lord 96 :**_

 **Glad to hear~**

 _ **Emperor Kind Perby :**_

 **Glad you liked it~**

 _ **Secure Zone Icon :**_

 **May I ask for elaboration?**

 _ **Valgreen :**_

 **Why are you confused?**

 _ **Night Raider 52 :**_

 **Same~**

 _ **Zenith Tempest :**_

 **Had a spark, then hit a few irl roadblocks.**

 _ **Merlin of Tarre :**_

 **Ah, the worst of games indeed. Sorry for it, too, honestly.**

 _ **Impossible Muffin :**_

 **Already have.**

 _ **Chee Puff :**_

 **Yep, that is your name now. I refuse to accept my errors when I make them. XD**

 _ **Duplicate User Name :**_

 **N-Nooooo~! Never~!**


	3. A Knight Confronted

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie DigiDemonLord**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **So I haven't ever done this, but I'm in a bad situation now and don't have much of a choice any more. So I have to.**_

 _ **See, I have been out of work for a while and unable to find anything to replace it where I live and still write at all on here, which is very important to me. Only work I ever got was a seventy hour a week gig that I wouldn't have been able to write on. At all. Ten hour days with a half hour lunch and one fifteen minute break.**_

 _ **Needless to say, that wasn't going to allow me to do this at all, and I love you guys and this too much to ever let something stop it. Then the loss of the studio came, and we lost all our recording abilities and more. So while members of the channel has been willing to help run this as part of it, that money is stretched thinner than ever. This situation has been the cause of delays thus far as well.**_

 _ **As a result, in the next week or two, I'm either going to need more of you guys Supporting or I'll have to slow down my chapters to an extreme. As in, one every other week might be the best I can manage. Even a dollar or two would help immensely, and I'm sorry to be asking for it. But without that, I can't help it.**_

 _ **So please, if you can, I have to ask that you give me a hand. There's well almost three hundred of you, two bucks from that would solve the issue entirely.**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Are you entirely certain, Master?" " _Fighting at my fullest, I could hurt you quite badly."_ Cinder asked hesitantly, the two standing outside the Atlesian ship and to the side, where the droids had busied themselves through the entire day before while he had met with his father and the night following, as well as the morning following. The small palisade only went about twenty feet along the forest's edge, and was more than far enough from the fields closer to the wall, built on a protocol of perimeter defence that no one had even considered disabling until it had been built. "And besides won't us… Fighting draw the ire of your friends and your family?"

"They'll be fine." Jaune dismissed, stretching in his damaged breastplate, sword arm over his chest and shield arm pulling on it gently to limber it. "As long as you don't, you know, kill me. Or burn something down, ya know? Just a spar."

"B-But, Master, I-"

"Cinder." Jaune growled, letting his arms droop and fixing the nervous woman with a hard look. She flinched, eyes searching his face and hands clutching at her chest, like a frightened girl rather than a woman, and he sighed. His eyes slid closed in irritation and he cocked a hip, hand resting on it the same way Cinder tended to do when she was irritated. "I need to train, Cinder. You're the strongest fighter here aside from Pyrrha and Neo, and Neo is too hurt to risk it."

"Then couldn't Pyrrha-"

"And Pyrrha," Jaune growled, returning his glare to her and ignoring it when she flinched back this time, "doesn't know how to use the Maiden's power. She needs more time before she can fight me and _not_ kill me with it. I need to train, we have no idea what's coming, and you're all I have. I need your help, Cinder."

She flushed at that, swallowing nervously and nodding, just as Roman strolled down the ramp with a lit cigar to enjoy the early morning coolness, Jaune nodding at him in greeting and Roman waved, strolling over as Cinder rolled her shoulders in preparation. "Mornin', what are you two up to?"

"Master wishes to spar, as part of his training." " _Regardless of my opinion…"_ "I am preparing." She said, pressing her hips forward with her hands until her back popped mutedly, glaring at Roman's roaming eyes, the posture and dress she wore putting on quite a show to the man's opinion and Jaune's irritation. "I did not get up this early to give you a show, Roman."

"No, no, but if the show is here…" He tipped his hat, whistling quietly when she eased her posture and turned to glare at him. "I mean, I ain't gonna pass on somethin' good and free, after all." " _And damn if that wasn't a nice show…"_

"Roman." Jaune snapped, the irritation echoing from Cinder matching and amplifying his own as his voice raised, "If you have anything useful to add, then feel free, but you will not practically undress Cinder when she is trying to do as I asked her to. Now, Cinder, are you ready?"

"As I will ever be, Master." She answered, sliding her right leg back a bit and clapping her hands together. As she extended them she turned so the palms were horizontal, a long shaft of dark glass extending for a couple feet until a short blade tapered, her fingers trailing along the blade's edge elegantly until her index finger rested against its tip and her palm held the base of the staff, holding the weapon over her head with a confident smirk, "The question, Master, is if you are ready."

Jaune drew his sword, flexing his fingers along the grip and grimacing at the dented surface of his shield, dozens of small impacts and scratches marring the sturdy shield's once pristine surface. Flexing his muscles in a last minute prep, he felt the familiar pangs of a fight coming on. The adrenaline, his nervousness, Cinder's nerves, Roman's interest in the fight. Flexing his Aura, he felt the range extend as his eyes closed, and he felt more, in more detail.

Pyrrha, in the mess hall, sleepily gnawing on food and musing about the day to come, wondering where Jaune was as she tended to. Obsessive, with that echo of Amber in the back of her mind that plagued Jaune. Neo, asleep in their room, relaxed and safe feeling, dreaming. Of what he couldn't tell without delving into her more purposefully. This even now was only him brushing by, sort of treading water close enough to her to feel her feet kick and arms paddle in the water without actually _touching_ her. Even the droids, milling about, their tiny, echoey minds surrounding him, sparking with directives and goals. Purpose, simple, pure and without anything behind it. Cinder's anxiety, Roman's curiosity, Neo's comfort, Pyrrha's desire and Amber's echo. All bounced off him, leaving their impressions, like handprints in wet sand.

All this bounced off of him and went through his mind, and he reigned it all in and forced the effects under his control, in under ten seconds before he took a deep breath and raised his shield, locking it against his chest protectively. "I'm ready."

Without a word, Cinder lunged, crossing the distance in two long strides and lunging for his throat with the blade of her spear. He deflected it with the rim of his shield, pushing it up and away in the same motion and slashing at her hand at the midpoint of the pole. She released it, spinning the pear over her head and lashing it out rapidly for his head, over and again, forcing him back as he ducked away to avoid the rapid strikes for several seconds.

Biding his time, he waited until he found the right timing, counting out beats mentally and reading her physical cues. Both the ones he felt from her and the ones he could observe, from the way her arms and legs moved and experience. She stepped forward, the muscles in her legs flexing as she strained to reach and follow him, as well as keeping her momentum up at the same time. Seizing the moment, he ducked down to a kneeling stance as her slash followed through, and he leapt up and towards her as the spear passed over her head and he sensed her surprise.

His shoulder slammed into her stomach and he slammed up with his hand on his other arm, slamming it into her polearm's shaft hard enough to shatter it and looping his right arm under her, shoulder pressed against milky thigh as he lifted her high into the air and, releasing his sword and letting it thud into the dirt so he could grab at soft, milky thighs, he flung her to the ground hard enough to drive the air from her lungs.

Grabbing his sword, he stood over her and pointed it down at her, frowning, "You held back. You can't hold back, Cinder, or I won't learn. I need to fight, to learn, before someone powerful comes along who wants to kill me."

"But, Master, I just don't want to-"

"I know, Cinder." Jaune interrupted, sighing and sheathing Crocea Mors. Offering her his hand as she propped herself up, she gave it a glance, and he added, "I get it, Cinder. But I need to train, and I need to train well. If you can't do that, then… It's fine, I guess. I'll just… Have to find a work around."

"I'm sorry, Master." She said, taking his hand and letting him pull her up before stepping away and looking to the ground almost like she'd been chastised, like a child. "I just… Everything I try to attack you, I feel this… Constriction in my chest, and can't. Even if you have ordered it."

At just the thought of hurting him, now that he could focus on her mind and ignore her body's intended movements, he could sense a strange anxiety, a conflict in her mind at the mere notion of attacking him. Painful, even, and he sighed sadly at it. What he'd done to her had been imperfect, because of his lack of practice and his lack of time to spend actually working on changing her mind more slowly.

But how had he done it? How did it work? He still didn't know these things, he only knew that basic commands didn't _seem_ to have to heavy and effect on people. But what he'd done to Cinder had been different, more radical and in depth. The soldier who he'd ordered to contact Ironwood had been differently entirely, where what he'd done then had been like brushing his hands along an ocean's surface, barely breaking the water's normal and flat appearance.

With Cinder, he'd shoved his arms in up to his shoulders, and Dust knows the deeper ramifications of demanding her absolute loyalty. The affection she felt, her inability to harm him even in a _spar_ on some deeper mental level, her absolute desire to be of some use to him, no matter how demeaning or inconsequential it might become…

"Lien for your thoughts, kid?" Jaune blinked, looking to his side where Roman had approached, eyebrow raised with Cinder on his other side, radiating concern. "Been like… A minute and a half, you been staring at the ground. You thinkin' bout something' important?" " _Cuz you looked like your brain was turned off…"_

"I was just thinking, that's all." Jaune dismissed, taking a breath and turning to Roman, "I was thinking about what we need to do next. I doubt Salem will let me go for terribly long, she probably has G-... Eyes, on me. Right now. And I am _not_ strong enough to fight her, and since the only people who could train me are hurt, untrained themselves or simply can't _do_ the training. So, I need a work around. _We_ need a work around, I guess."

"So, Roman, I want you to try and get in contact with some of your friends." Roman gave him a look, both eyebrows shooting up and smirking with a slight tilt to his head, and Jaune sighed, "Associates, fine. Just, you know… People you trust who are useful and don't require us to do anything... You know, horribly evil or something, to work for them. My father knows damn well we need a hauler heading to Atlas, so start there."

"I thought he was gonna ask around?" Roman asked, more curious than anything else, as his mind raced with ideas, possibilities, names and faces Jaune didn't know with emotional contexts that confused them in his mind. Jaune tried to ignore them as best he could as Roman continued, "Or is this more of your mind mumbo jumbo, telling you a touch more than the average Jaune oughta know?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Jaune admitted frankly, Roman simply nodding as he thought for a moment.

"I'll make some calls, you good with smuggling?" He asked, Jaune nodding after a second's thought. "Good, that'll make it easier. Have to make trips to Mistral too though to do it, already know that. You good goin' to Vale?" _Unless you're worried 'bout people startin' shit…"_

Another nod, the blonde letting Roman work as the man took a few steps away, crossing an arm over his chest and resting the elbow of his other on it while he scratched at his chin and thought, "Good, good, that opens up a lot of possibilities. Don't want to touch drugs, shits too damn hot on a good day… Maybe weapons, not to anyone bad I promise, kid." " _Well, bad is kind of subjective here…"_ "Mostly bouncers, merc companies, stuff to outsource to settlements, that sorta stuff. Maybe people?"

"I'm not okay with human trafficking." Jaune said simply, Roman rolling his eyes.

"It's not a friggin' slave trade, Jaune, wouldn't do it otherwise. It's people that are… Looking for a new life, guess you could say." He explained, gesturing at Cinder, "Cindy here and her little team got moved by one of these services. So have I, and Neo too of course. Your little friend Blake did too, when she left the White Fang. Woulda had to, can't get into a big walled city like Vale without." " _Unless someone high enough up the old greasy pole steps in to give you some keys, of course."_

"As long as I know who we're moving and why, it's fine." Jaune agreed, grimacing slightly. Who knew he'd end up a criminal, even given the circumstances. "But no one who is, you know, running from the authorities, or anything like that. And you make it clear, I have qualms about someone-"

"You'll kill the deal." Roman finished breezily, nodding with a strange, knowing smirk. "Same here, kid. I wouldn't even suggest anything _outright_ illegal anyways. Technically speaking, what we're doing is just a… quiet airline service for private people, and private shipping. No laws broken, no drama, no problems." " _Be nice operating without heat for a while… The friggin' demon queen notwithstanding."_

"Just… The ship will be yours to take, try not to get shot down or arrested?" Roman tipped his hat almost mockingly and Jaune sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose frustratedly. "Now can you… go? Not to sound, like, mean or anything, but I need to talk to Cinder. Alone."

"Sure, sure, I'll go make some calls." " _Leave you two to your alone time."_ Roman smirked at Jaune's glare, hurrying away and chuckling to himself.

"Master?" Cinder asked after a few moments, when Roman vanished up the ramp and into the ship. Jaune could still sense the man, his excitement peaking and mind racing with plans, schemes, ideas… The man had to be excited to be returning to his preferred field. When Jaune turned to the woman, she swallowed nervously, "You… wished to speak?" " _He must still be angry with me… Blast."_ "I-I'm sorry I failed you, Master, I-"

"Stop, Cinder." He almost snapped, sighing as he said it instead. "I'm not angry with you, the problems you're having here are… Probably my fault, honestly. So forget it, okay?"

"Yes, Master." " _So he's not angry, thank the Brothers…"_ She bowed her head and smiled thinly before blinking and looking back up at him, her hands resting at her side where she had stood on Roman's other side, "Then what is it you wanted of me?"

"Emerald and Mercury." Jaune said simply, turning towards the ship as he thought and Cinder's mind began to race. "Tell me about them both. What do they want? How can I convince them to come to my side?" Cinder had a thought and he growled, "Without doing what I did to you, Cinder."

"Very well," Cinder sighed weakly, gesturing at the ship, "Would you like to go inside and have a seat, Master? The story of how I met them is a long one." " _And I am rather hungry, besides."_

Chuckling, Jaune nodded and turned to head towards the ship himself, Cinder following close behind at a respectful distance just behind his steps, "Sure, we'll grab some food and you can tell me all about this. Start with where they must have gone after they left my ship?"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Emerald stretched out, sighing under the shade in her alley. Well, not _hers_ technically, technically it belonged to the Kingdom of Vale since the factory and warehouse had closed down and been taken under the Kingdom's ownership. Originally, it had had two large central alleyways with chainlink gates on each side for trucks and transport, and a single more private access point through a wooden fence. Once they'd gone under and Vale had taken over the property, they'd used wooden panels to close up the gates on both sides, nailed through the chainlink itself. Which had the added benefit of some privacy, making it a nicely sheltered area once she picked the lock to the private entrance, a simple enough padlock that only took her a few minutes in the dark of night. Catwalks high above that crossed over the space didn't do very much to stop rain whenever it fell, but the private entrance was roofed in between the two close buildings, and wide enough for her and Mercury to toss a couple mattresses on the ground there, propped up on some old cinder blocks.

Nothing like a feather bed, but better than the ground…

They'd talked about breaking into the buildings themselves, but a quick look around had shown them several alarm systems wired up. Most people didn't mind squatters in an alleyway, after all, but they did tend to have problems with them being _in_ a building. So it was better out here, especially given the warm temperatures.

"Honey, I'm home." Mercury grumbled, barbing at her as he pushed open the dark wooden fence door in the private entrance. He held up a couple pizzas in pale yellow boxes with a smiling Faunus holding a trident on the front and smirking, "Popped by a pizza place, idiot left these on his scooter outside. Score for us."

"And I got about three hundred Lien today using my Semblance to beg." She said back, holding up the tin for him to take, trading a pizza box to her for it. "Not bad, but I have to get things sit for a while."

"Yeah, don't wanna get any attention on us we don't want." Mercury grunted, plopping onto his mattress and opening his, smile widening, "Sweet! Peppers!"

"Nice." She sighed and rolled her eyes, taking a bite of her pepperoni, enjoying the delicious taste and savoring it with each bite. Such a treat was rare, and it being _free_ was even rarer. After a few seconds of chewing, staring at the ground, she spoke, "What are we going to do, Mercury?"

"Survive." He answered frankly, shrugging when she gave him a look, eyebrow raised and mouth working in an annoyed line. "What? It's true. We keep ourselves fed and sheltered, well enough to stay alive at least, and somethin' will come along. When it does, we take it. Simple as that."

"Keep moving forward? That's the best plan you have? We're in an alley in Vale, eating stolen pizza and begging for money with my Semblance, and that's all you can think of?" She asked, the silver haired assassin shrugging in response. "Ugh! We can't do that, Mercury. We have to help Cinder, whatever thet blonde son of a Grimm did to her, we have to fix it."

"Do you have a better idea, Em?" Mercury asked hotly, tossing a half-eaten slice of pizza back into its box. "Because from where I'm sitting, we have no money, no contacts, and no transport. And between you and me, my legs need maintenance run on them soon, so we can't do any fighting. They'll give out, and we haven't go the Lien in us to even start trying to get it taken care of. So, no contacts means no light jobs, no working maintenance places for me means I can't fight either. That leaves our Semblances, and mine is next to useless outside of a fight. And yours will get Cinder and her new boss on our tail, or worse."

"Assuming they're looking." Emerald grumbled quietly, though she had to agree. "But… We still have to do something, right? We can't get to Cinder though, so… You're right, Mercury. We just have to get by for now."

"Wait, wait, say that again." Mercury teased, smiling from his mattress at Emerald. She glared and he wiggled his eyebrows, "Come on, Em, lemme hear it again."

"No, jackass." She snapped, setting her pizza aside for later and hoping it would hold. Mercury just chuckled and returned to his food, while Emerald started thinking. Looking up at the high ceiling of their little living space, she sighed, "What would Cinder do?"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Emerald is… Hard to explain, master." Cinder started when they sat down, Pyrrha on his other side causing the older woman some slight irritation. Pyrrha… didn't like sharing the time, apparently. "I mean, she's simple in a lot of ways. She'll steal, fight, lie, even kill people if she needs to." " _Or if I asked her, of course."_ "But she's a good person, deep down, I think."

"Maybe." He agreed, sighing tiredly. Honestly, he'd never done more than a surface, cursory examination of Emerald's mind. Her wants, desires, opinions on what was being done. And besides, she'd probably have thought whatever Cinder wanted the good thing to do, so it doesn't matter really. He wouldn't be able to accurately judge things anyways. "How did you meet?"

"I found her, stealing in Vacuo. Using her semblance to do it, and it was a powerful one. I tracked her for a while, until I could guess her Semblance or… Approximate it, at the very least. Then I followed her until she was alone, and I confronted her." Jaune saw an image, an alleyway with a younger Emerald, thinner and dirty. Alone, frightened, counting Lien for a few seconds excitedly before turning on Cinder, practically trembling in terror. "We talked, I explained what I could offer, and she agreed to follow me for awhile. To make me prove it. When I did… She changed." " _She became fanatical in her devotion."_

"She became like you then, right, Cinder?" " _A weak, pathetic puppet on a string…"_ Pyrrha barbed lightly, smirking at the ex-villain. Cinder sighed, eyes closing slowly as she fought back the urge to snap back a return, and Jaune gave the Mistralian Champion a hard look. She balked, hands folded on the table and face downcast, "I'm sorry… I-I forgot about how you felt about it."

He sighed and decided to ignore the slight squabbling, even if what she'd said had bothered him. Emerald just wanted a way to survive, to get by, according to Cinder… She'd become fanatically devoted to the half-Maiden, just for having a decent life. All Jaune would reasonably have to do is provide the same for her, and if he added access to Cinder, then she'd follow him. Probably, at least. "And Mercury? How did you meet him?"

"I had heard of an assassin, in Vacuo as well, who was rather famous. Well, his alias was at least, and that had enough for me to make headway with his contacts. All I had to do was feign that I held a contract, and a big one at that. The right bribes with the greedy ones, intimidation with the cowardly ones, and they told me where to go." She grimaced at the prospects, but otherwise seemed unburdened by them. He could feel some qualms, but he felt a connection to _himself_ in them.

She continued before he could think any further on it, "When I arrived, Mercury had killed his father. I never… I never considered asking why, it was never important. Regardless, he was wounded badly enough that we couldn't save his legs. We were too far from any major settlements to even try, so I contacted an… acquaintance, I suppose, who was adept at surgery. Watts provided the prosthetics, and when they arrived, I gave them to Mercury and offered him what I offered Emerald. After that, he was… loyal enough, so long as he received money and had some 'fun' along the way." " _Which usually meant a good fight."_

"So he's like Emerald, just trying to get by. Plus a bit of greed." Jaune observed, raising an eyebrow in question at Cinder. She nodded and he sighed, "Well, I mean, I want them to _make_ money and stuff, but would that work? Convince them, I mean?"

"You could just use your Semblance." " _Even though I know you hate it."_ She added, taking a drink of her water on the table. He grimaced and scowled, face twisting enough that _both_ women sparked in anxiety, and Pyrrha immediately added, "N-Never mind, that's a bad idea. I'm s-sorry, jaune, I didn't want to-"

"It's fine. Just… forget it, it was a suggestion. That's all. The point of this is the suggestions, after all." He interrupted, sighing as a droid approached from the door with a sleepy looking Neo behind it in without her jacket, just wearing her black unitard and pants, the automoton carrying a small letter and seemingly leading the woman. "What?"

The machine handed him the message while Neo tugged on his sleeve until he slid the chair back, reading it while she crawled into his lap, resting her hips on his and wrapping her legs around his waist. " _Better."_ She murmured, tucking her face into the crook of his neck and relaxing, " _Warm."_

The paper he was holding was a series of names, locations, settlements, quantities and more, with dates scribbled next to each. He couldn't understand it, not well enough to know what to do with it, so he held it out to Cinder, "It's a list, looks like. But I never studied business or, I guess, shipping? I can't make heads or tails of it."

" _That's why you have servants, Master."_ She said as she took the list, looking it over for a few moments, "The lists are amounts of items and the items themselves, as well as who is requesting them. Apparently, it's common for traders to leave items here for other ships to ferry to smaller settlements." She looked up at him, "We can't really handle all of it, but I can speak to Roman if you wish, and we'll formulate a plan."

"Do it." He ordered simply, the woman rising and heading out of the room quickly to do as he'd told her. He looked at Pyrrha, eyeing Neo jealously, and sighed, "Can you stop glaring a hole in Neo's back?"

"I just… Don't understand how you can be so intimate with her. After what she did to me, to you." " _The poison, the cutting…"_ "The kidnapping goes without mentioning." Neo turned in his lap to glare at Pyrrha, even if she was half asleep, shifting in her position on his lap so she hung of his side a little so she could glare at the Mistralian. "Don't give me that look, I have every right to say what I am."

" _I did what I had to."_ Jaune translated over, Pyrrha scoffing at the implication. " _If I hadn't, then Cinder would have hurt Roman. And Emerald would have done it anyways."_

"You enjoyed it, though. I would forgive it were it merely something forced on you, something not of your desire. But you _enjoyed_ it, the way you smiled as you cut into me." Pyrrha argued, voice low and hot as she rose on the other side of the table, leaning over it meaningfully and purposefully showing off her cleavage under her chestpiece. Jaune spared the barely hiddens orbs a glance that Pyrrha caught, " _All yours, Jaune, you just have to ask."_ "And now, we're safe enough to have our confrontation without any untoward consequences. I want to have this argument." " _And fight for what is mine."_

"Pyrrha-"

"No, Jaune." She snapped, glaring at him for a moment before her gaze softened slightly. "Jaune, I… We could have had so much, and she took it away from me. Poisoned me, cut me, shamed me… And then _took_ you away." " _And when I found you again, she was your lover…"_

"I'm not going to apologize for that, and neither is she." Jaune snapped, Neo hopping off him as he rose to stare the Msitralian down. "It was a bad situation, one either of us could _die in_ at any time. We were stressed, alone, frightened… All we had was each other, and we leaned on that."

"That doesn't excuse sleeping with her." Pyrrha argued, straightening and looking down on the woman. "A coward who didn't dare to fight me head on, injecting me with poison and cutting me like it was a game to play… She has no place at your side, Jaune, or under my protection as you are."

"Who I care about is my business, not yours, Pyrrha." Jaune dismissed, crossing his arms and sighing when Neo ducked behind him, pressing against his back and trembling frightenedly and angrily. Neo didn't handle this kind of thing very well... "You weren't there, she was, and you weren't under the same threat we were. Maybe how we got together is strange, and yeah, Neo's a sadist. But I literally took over another person's min, and rewrote her into a slave. I guess you hold that against me too?"

"N-No, I-"

"You don't like Neo." Jaune finished for her simply, "But I love her. And I will protect her, so you can either respect and accept that or-"

"You don't understand!" Pyrrha shouted suddenly, a gentle hum escaping as she tapped the metal table and flung it to the side with her Semblance, weakened as it was. The table slammed on its top a foot to the side, Pyrrha closing the distance and prodding his chest with a finger, chest heaving and eyes watery as her emotions raced in her mind and out, into him. " _You_ have what you want, but what about everyone else? Nora and Ren lost half their team, Yang lost her arm, Cinder lost her mind as little as I care about that… And I lost you!"

"I am right here, Pyrrha. Just… tell me what I can do for you, please!" Jaune assured her gently, reaching out to touch her mind, to see what he needed to say to calm her.

"I don't know!" She cried, staggering back as though struck, wrapping her arms around herself and taking a shaky breath. Neo peaked around him curiously and nervously, trying to figure the other woman out. Pyrrha straightened suddenly, eyes glowing with the Maiden's power, "You were supposed to be mine! Not hers!"

He could sense it, her obsession and the affection underlying it… If he'd been there, at Beacon with her, then maybe things would have progressed more healthily, but the addition of the trauma from Amber's mind echoing through her had warped it. Turned it dark, and when Jaune looked at the woman he understood. The way her emotions felt, the echo of it, the taste of it and the color in his mind when he took it into himself to look at it…

"I understand." Jaune said simply, relaxing and taking a step back as Pyrrha's eyes narrowed. Jaune hated manipulating her feelings like this, but… He had the information and using it would make her happier. "You did so much for me, because of your… Your obsession. And I'm with Neo… And that's how it will stay. I'm sorry. If you want to be with me, accept that you will as a friend. My closest, most trusted friend. And nothing more."

Pyrrha stared at him for a few seconds, before the power vanished from her eyes and she sighed, "Fine… As long as-as you know, and understand, I'll…" Her voice shook and she turned towards the door, shoulders sagging, "I am going into the forest for a while to train." " _And blow off steam as well."_

He let her go, sighing irritatedly, and Neo pouted up at him apologetically, " _Sorry…"_

"Don't be. It's in the past, and… Everyone s adjusting to how things are now, I guess." He turned around, pulling Neo into a hug and kissing the crown of her head. Inhaling her familiar scent, he relaxed somewhat, "Now let's get some food? I'm starving."

She nodded, leaning up to peck a kiss on his chin, " _Okay and… I l-love you too."_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter had taken a private ship from the Atlesian fleet as soon as she'd received her orders and traveled overnight to the Atlesian base closest to Ansel, stepping out in the mid-day sun as the ship shut down and Atlesian crewmen moved in to unload its weapons and move it to a safe place for storage. Winter ducked past the busy soldiers, pulling the brim of her hat lower over her head and tucking the dark scarf around her neck tighter to hide her hair and face as best she could.

"Ma'am." One started, the Schnee turning to her with a raised eyebrow. The soldier, a young woman with hard, dark eyes and long raven hair over pale skin, saluted crisply and Winter returned it. "I'm the officer in charge of monitoring this region, ma'am. Here to report, if you'll follow me to a more private location."

Winter nodded, following the woman through the fairly standard Atlesian same style that the Arc boy had been to to report an incident, according to her reports. She took a seat in one of the chairs in a small, dark briefing room with a dark wooden table dominating the center and a dark leather couch against the back wall, and the officer handed her a folder, with pictures of the ship in question as it had come in to land and when it had already landed, taken from high up as through a Bullhead had flown over.

"And the ship has been positively identified?" Winter asked simply, the officer nodding. "Then I need to get closer, identify him as being there and get a tracking device on that ship before it moves again."

"I can prepare everything you need, ma'am. You should be able to deploy tonight, if you wish." Winter nodded, and the soldier added, "Would you like some drones or myself to accompany you?"

"Do you know the topography of the region well?" The officer shook her head, and Winter sighed. "Then no, thank you. I will require some dark fatigues, a helmet to hide my hair, and a topographical map of the region downloaded onto a disposable Scroll. Can you secure that for me by tonight?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Very well." She said simply, sliding her coat off and laying it on the table in the middle of the room as she stood and moved to the couch against the back wall. Kicking off her shoes, she continued, "I have to keep as low a profile as possible, so I won't be leaving the room again. I will need a meal delivered in four hours time, but until then, I am going to sleep here. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." She saluted as Winter laid down, closing her eyes and letting out a breath. "I will do as ordered. Good luck in your mission."

"Dismissed, Observer." She said simply, the woman nodding and turning to leave, flicking the light off as she went and throwing the Schnee into a comfortable darkness.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Killkill123100 :**_

 **Yeah, the tension is high. As you can tell here. Issues have built up due to circumstance that need to be resolved.**

 _ **Cat Poster :**_

 **You have no idea.**

 _ **Zenith Tempest :**_

 **I plead the fifth.**

 _ **Spudy Potato :**_

 **Yeeeeeah I meant to fix that before uploading, but it didn't take from the phone I used. I corrected it after though.**

 _ **The Wizardrous Magicman :**_

 **Yeah, it amuses me to write when its innocent. Things had to get heated here though, and I hope the reasons made sense.**


	4. A Knight and Resolution

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, I and the channel are struggling financially. So please, if you can, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

" _You should go and talk to her…"_ Neo told him as they ate, the girl chewing on a piece of toast guiltily across from him. Jaune looked up at her, unsurprised at the words but curious to see if she had more to say. She didn't, but she didn't need to, he could feel her emotions running wild ever since Pyrrha had left. Jaune had sensed her irritation and… grief, almost, until she left his range of 'hearing', headed into the forest.

Confusion. Anger. Guilt to a strangely large degree... Curiosity?

"Why?" He asked simply, to prompt a better explanation form the small woman.

" _Because she's right."_ Neo said simply, Jaune raising an eyebrow at her. She closed hers taking a breath while she gathered her thoughts, " _I did do all those things. She has a right to be… Angry, hurt, whatever. I'm not a good person, and I… hurt her, and enjoyed it, and I made damn sure she knew I was enjoying it."_

"I know..." Jaune said quietly, looking down at his eggs and thinking for a few seconds. "But… You had to. You had to protect people you cared about, and Pyrrha was an obstacle to that. And… And she got hurt, but you're regretful about that. And I forgave you for it, and… You've been trying to be better."

" _And?"_ She asked weakly, avoiding his eyes as hers flashed pink and brown, then to white and then back. " _I can try all I want, but I'll still enjoy hurting people. And manipulating them, like you did to her."_

"What are you-"

" _Osmosis. That's what you called it, right?"_ She asked, interrupting him and looking at his eyes suddenly, hard shards there boring into his eyes. " _You absorb things from people, just from being around them. Right?"_

"Yeah, why?" He asked nervously, already knowing where she was going.

" _Because, Jaune. Because you're… becoming me."_ She said, sighing and pushing a slice of bacon around her plate idly. " _Or, well, kind of. I can see it, though. You're becoming more manipulative, and… And I like it, it excites me to watch, but…"_

"But you want me to stay the same as I am." Jaune said, sighing weakly and nodding. "Right?"

" _No!"_ She almost screamed in his head, chewing her lip and avoiding his eye contact again. Her mind raced faster than he could follow, her emotions. " _I'm saying that… I don't know. You handled her wrong, the way she feels, what she wants… What she deserves."_

"Because the only thing that would satisfy her is me, Neo. What she deserves I have already given away, to _you_ , Neo." He said quietly and firmly, watching her closely for a long moment before adding, "I… I want to be faithful. With everything I have done, all my mistakes, screwups, the things I've done… I wanted at least that."

" _I know, I'm not…"_ She sighed and rose, " _Just stay here? I'm going to go talk to her myself."_

"That's not a good idea, Neo." Jaune argued, standing and moving to follow her towards the door before she rounded on him, scowling up at him as he approached and slapping his chest playfully. "Neo… How are you even going to talk to her?"

" _Trust me, okay, Jaune? I'm Neopolitan, the cutest assassin this side of everything Remnant has to offer. I can handle one angry sort of girlfriend."_ She asked seriously, smirking up at him in a cocky, surefire way that was very much betrayed by the subtle tremor in her limbs, and the racing nervousness he knew she felt as it echoed into him. She was scared, frightened by what she was going to do by going to talk to Pyrrha… But she wanted his trust.

"Okay, Neo. Just… be careful, okay?" He said, the girl guffawing mutely and waving her hands as though to say 'I'm always careful' and Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Neo, I mean it. Pyrrha is angry, and she's angriest at you, and she is a... great fighter." He'd almost said dangerous, but he caught it just in time. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, slapping his chest again and turning to leave, and he watched the door for several seconds before turning and slamming his fist down onto the table, "Damn it all to the Grimm…"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It didn't take long for Neo to find the Mistralian champion, she left plenty of carnage for her to follow. Damaged trees, splintered limbs lying on the grass here and there from wild, uncontrolled attacks or just plainly enraged ones, charred and smoldering on the forest floor. Grimm plating was scattered about, the only thing usually left once a Grimm fully dissolved. The ground was oddly clean though, unmarred and not torn up much, like when people normally fought Grimm. The ground was always torn, churned up from the armored boots of fighters and the claws and hooves of the beasts themselves.

And yet, the ground was barely scratched anywhere except where the plating of the Grimm lay, meaning they'd died there _before_ they could do much more than react to a person's presence near them.

"Neo," a drone started, one of two trailing behind her protectively, part of the still-active security measures the ship was programmed to have. She'd asked, and he'd rattled off Atlesian procedure codes and her apparently accorded rank as a 'lieutenant', though she had no idea how she's gotten that. Roman, probably. "We are nearing the location of Nikos, Pyrrha. A drone following her has advised, she is irate and in reports indicate she has encountered a Beowolf pack."

No duh on either of those claims, she could hear the blasts echoing from here already, and see the faint flashes as well as lightning and fire arced against the creatures. Raising her hands and turning to sign at the droid, she asked, " _Can you keep up if I run? I don't want to lose her."_

"Negative." The drone responded, reaching into a compartment on its hips and extracted a small cylinder which pulsated with a soft green glow at the end is it was offered to her. "The ship this unit is attached to can monitor your location wit this, ma'am, and this unt will follow using it. So if you lose your way, we will locate you. Also, a drone is on-site with Nikos, Pyrrha. It will relay to this unit your location as well."

" _Got it."_ She signed, rolling her shoulders and taking off at an easy sprint, leaping over logs, limbs and rocks, enjoying the feeling of simply _running_ for the first time in months. She'd never _quite_ been a free-runner, but she still enjoyed using her acrobatics to leap, roll and jump off of rocks, trees and so on to cover the distance.

She leapt over a fallen tree laying in front of a healthy one into a large clearing dotted with dead and dying Grimm, ducking under a Beowolf as it careened over her head and slammed against the tree behind her hard enough to snap backwards around it, collapsing limply. Neo took a moment to look around, mainly out of fear of the Grimm, and whistled mutely at the battlefield. Charred, burned, smoke starting to clog the air and the earth churned from blasts, bolts, gusts of wind if she remembered what little she'd seen of Cinder's fighting. Plating was scattered around the ground from Grimm already gone, and Pyrrha hurled her spear as she turned on the spot in the middle of the field, catching the last Grimm in the chest and watching it collapse at her feet before turning angry, literally smoldering eyes on Neo.

"What do _you_ want, harlot?" She demanded hotly, holding a hand out as she approached the small woman, her spear flying into her hand. Neo swallowed nervously, the droid that followed Pyrrha stepping up beside Neo from behind a tree where it had taken cover. "To rub what you have in more, maybe?" Pyrrha flicked her wrist, her spear shifting into a sword as she came to a stop a few feet away, cocking her hip and resting her shield-hand on her hip, "Or perhaps you thought to try and end me out here, so I couldn't bother you anymore? I would wager that is harder than you think, though."

" _I already know I can't beat you in a fight."_ She signed nervously, the droid translating for her as she did so Pyrrha could understand. She chuckled at the shorter woman, almost dark enough to worry Neo, and she added, " _I came to talk, not fight you."_

"Talk? Laughable, coming from a _mute_." Pyrrha dug at her, Neo blinking in surprise and hurt, before her face hardened in anger. Pyrrha laugh brightly, leaning forward slightly at her hips. "Oh? Did I strike a nerve there? Are we a bit self-conscious about the fact we can't even _speak_ readily with anyone?"

Neo fought back against the anger spiking through her, eyes closing as her eyes flashed colors rapidly to show her anger, before letting out a breath, " _Stop trying to start something, I'm trying to bury the hatchet."_

"Was a time you tried to bury _me_." Pyrrha dismissed easily, eyeing the smaller woman for several seconds before sighing. "But fine. Say what you to to feel like you _tried_ I guess. Not that it will change anything, but I will at least offer the courtesy of an honest hearing."

Neo kept her opinion on just how honest the hearing really _was_ to herself, instead nodding and signing again, " _I just wanted to talk about what happened, at Beacon."_

"An apology won't change what happened, nor how you have stole Jaune away from everyone who has a claim to him. Sparse and loose as such claims are, his team mates for a few week have stronger claim on him than his _kidnapper_." Pyrrha argued simply, shrugging as though it were the most obvious thing in the world that Neo would come for that.

" _I'm not here to apologize, and I won't ever."_ Neo said simply, signing away as quickly as she could. Pyrrha's eyes narrowed on her and Neo sighed mutely, " _I had to do what I did, kidnapping him. The only people I care about, really, were in danger. I did what I had to to protect him. Just like I have done for Jaune."_

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked curiously, head tilting as she considered Neo's words. Neo sighed mutely again and started working her shoulders to slide out of the leotard's upper half, Pyrrha watching the milky expanse of her chest as her breasts came into view and she pushed the leotard down, the Mistralian flushing and looking away, "W-Why are you disrobing, Neo?"

" _To show you what I have paid as a price for Jaune already."_ She signed simply as she turned, the robot translating for her and allowing Pyrrha to force her gaze back to the woman.

"Gods…" Pyrrha murmured weakly, blinking at the image before her and the contrast it brought against the milky, flawless skin on her neck and chest and - Goddess if Pyrrha didn't flush as she thought it - the moderate swell of her breasts.

A wicked scar, like a large chunk resting on her back, flaring out from the center of her back like flames and fingers, but more ragged. Like broken glass, shatter outwards, ragged and violent looking. The ugly pink and red scarring, with light ridging in the very center where the flesh turned a darker red and Pyrrha could barely make out the divets of her spine and the curve of ribs where the damaged skin clung taught against bones and muscle, and another long line of that red, raw looking flesh reached from her left shoulder down to her right hip, the flame-like scarring following it out. The edges of the massive burn were wrinkled in an ugly way, where the skin had been just barely damaged and tried to heal.

"I knew you got hurt protecting Jaune, but… Gods, it looks like you were burned alive." And it did, truly, and Pyrrha felt her anger ebb as her natural sympathy rose for the young woman. She took a step forward, Neo watching her over her shoulder, and Pyrrha swallowed nervously, "May I..."

" _Be gentle."_ Neo said simply, swallowing nervously and forcing herself to stay still, quashing the instinctive panic and resistance to the idea. She hadn't even allowed Jaune to touch it yet, not the way Pyrrha wanted to, but… She was here to reach out, after all.

She shivered when she felt soft, gloved fingers touch the skin at the center of her back, sending painful sparks through her enough that Neo couldn't help but stiffen. "I'm sorry!" Pyrrha almost cried, recoiling before reaching out to brush the outline of the scar stretching across her back, gentler and more tenderly, "This is… You took an axe meant for Jaune, correct?"

" _Yeah. Atlesian soldier had it, it electrified the skin through your Aura to inflict damage regardless. It still helps protect you, but it hurts. And without mine at the time, well…"_ She paused, grimacing as she tried to recall everything. " _I don't know how it felt, I passed out when it happened."_

Pyrrha stepped away, mouth working as she thought, and Neo turned towards her again shamelessly, her bust still showing. Pyrrha flushed as she thought, murmuring, "Would you… cover yourself, please?" Neo nodded, pulling the leotard back up, and Pyrrha watched her closely for a few seconds before speaking, sighing before she did, "You truly love him, then?"

" _I'm an engineered sadist and a sociopath."_ She signed simply, shrugging when Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at her. " _I don't truly know if I love him. Not at least the way most people think of it. But…"_ She trailed off, hands hesitating in the air as she sought out words that would work, " _He makes me happy, makes me feel welcome and safe. Accepts me. Even Roman was always a bit off put by my proclivities."_

"As he should be." Pyrrha asserted, Neo looking at her. "Your… tendencies are a bit dark, Neo. Monstrous, even. People like you, who exist only to harm others and lavish in their suffering, you should be seen as the danger you are. But..." Pyrrha paused to take a breath, sword hand bouncing with the weapon in her hand anxiously, "But everyone wants to be loved, I suppose. Accepted." Neo nodded, and Pyrrha continued, "So I… Guess I understand, in a way, why you'd cling to an empath. He'd understand you better than anyone else ever could, you can even _speak_ to him.."

" _And he does."_ Neo agreed simply, nodding with a small, warm smile on her face. " _I don't know if I love him, I don't know if I can love anyone, but… I want him to be safe and happy."_ She looked up at Pyrrha, taking a step towards the woman, close enough now that their bodies almost touched while she looked at the Mistralian, who swallowed anxiously and looked down at her, refusing to give ground to the woman. " _And he can't be that without you. WIthout his friends and his family. So what can I give you to fix this? To make up for what I did?"_

"I-I don't-"

" _What do you want?"_ She asked simply, signing with her arm to the side, interrupting the Mistralian as the redhead took a step away, " _What can I give you? Revenge, maybe?"_

"Revenge?" Pyrrha asked curiously, raising her eyebrow. Neo nodded simply, clearly disliking the premise even as she offered it. "What do you mean?"

" _I hurt you. I cut you and enjoyed it. Relished in it, got off on it even. The way your eyes followed the knife, your muted voice..."_ Neo explained simply as she could, looking at Pyrrha's chest above her bust purposefully before returning her eyes to Pyrrha's. " _Do you want to do the same thing to me? Will that satisfy you? To cut me, make me scream? I won't judge you for it, I'm the last person who has a right to do that. So is that it? Do you want to take from me like I did to you?"_

"N-No, I would never do that." Pyrrha argued simply, shaking her head and trying to steady her sword-arm's sudden tremble. "I… Petty revenge isn't what I want. Even if it would… would feel good, for a while, Jaune would never forgive me for it."

" _Then what do you want? You can have anything I can give, so what do you want from me?"_ Neo asked again, Pyrrha's mouth working in an effort to form some answer to her question. Neo's eyes narrowed when Pyrrha's eyes began to roam almost unconsciously, first to her lip, then her bust, then back towards where Neo had come from, towards the ship. " _I won't give up Jaune, I_ will _be with him. I refuse to back down on that."_

"T-That makes him happy, yes. But I don't… I don't know what you have which I could ask for. I won't ask you to leave Jaune, that would hurt him as much as you. And I would never take joy from that. No from anything that causes him pain..." Pyrrha said after a second, while Neo watched her and thought. "I don't know…"

The jealousy when she and Jaune were intimate made sense if Pyrrha wanted Jaune for herself and _only_ Jaune for herself. That made perfect sense with Neo's assumptions of Pyrrha's desires, to bed with Jaune and be his. But the way she had flushed when Neo took off her leotard, the embarrassment she'd shown at the mere sight of her bust, that made less sense. A champion fighter must have shared a locker room, and while her reaction would have made sense in an intimate setting regardless or with someone whom she cared for, here it made none. So why had Pyrrha reacted like a teenage boy with his first pair of tits in front of him?

Unless Neo was _wrong_ in her assumptions about what Pyrrha wanted, who she was deep down, especially after everything that had been done to her.

And that prompted Neo's mind to race further, until she asked herself, did Pyrrha want Jaune _for herself_ or did she just want him _period_? Because the former wasn't something Neo could tolerate, not something she could stand for. But the latter… Neo would be lying if she said Pyrrha wasn't attractive.

But what did Pyrrha want? To take something from Neo, obviously. To take of her. To get her pound of flesh, violate Neo as Neo had violated her. A vicious cycle, sure, but one that made sense especially as changed as her mental state was according to Jaune. But she still had some semblance of morality, some restrictions on herself. While Neo couldn't tell if it was _Pyrrha's_ qualms, or Pyrrha's worry about Jaune's, or just societal influence, it was clear Pyrrha wouldn't give in to a violent answer.

And if Pyrrha wouldn't violate her with a _knife_ then maybe Neo needed to give her another outlet to do it… A way to violate Neo, or at least _feel as though she had_ without any violence, or harm, or a knife. And that gave Neo an idea, odd as it was, based on her past experiences hunting targets.

When in doubt, let them have your body and see what they did. People would find what they wanted, if they didn't know what it was.

" _Do you want_ me _?"_ She asked out of the blue, head tilted to the side as her suspicions came to a head. Pyrrha flinched as though struck, and Neo smirked knowingly and mockingly as she stammered out a denial, her grip tightening on her weapon and her shield. " _It's okay to, you know. To want me and Jaune, it's okay."_

"N-No, I don't… I don't love you." Pyrrha said sternly, stepping away as Neo stepped forward to close the gap. Smirking, she stepped forward and watched the Misralian panic and back away, following the champion fighter. Corralling her until her leather-armored back hit a tree and Neo stopped, giving the woman enough space to put her shield between them, eyes looking her up and down warily. "W-What are you doing, you little… Sadist."

" _So what if I'm a sadist? You'd be the one doing the taking, not me."_ She said simply, signing with one hand and running a finger along the rim of Pyrrha's shield with the other. " _And when we get back, I'll explain to Jaune that we're… Sharing."_

"S-Sharing?" Pyrrha asked, watching Neo's fingers drummed along the rim of her shield, glancing between them and the young woman's eyes with a nervous, anxious expression. "I-I don't understand."

" _Don't try to."_ Neo signed simply, pinching the rim of the shield and pulling it aside. It took some effort, but the resistance Pyrrha offered was barely a token show of fight than anything, and she didn't even try when Neo pulled the shield from her arm and laid it against the tree beside the Mistralian, close enough she would feel safe with it near but far enough to give her space. " _I don't know if I love Jaune, I don't know much about it. But I do know about desires, about people wanting things they think they can't have. You want Jaune, you want to have him press you against a mattress and ravish you. And you want me, if I don't know how you want me. I don't know what you want to do, but I know you want to do s_ omething _to me."_

"I-I don't want anything from you…" Pyrrha argued, but Neo knew better if only because the Mistralian 's eyes never left her own lips. Following them, curiously and demandingly, and then trailing along her jaw towards Neo's neck. Neo was good at watching people, it helped in her line of work, and she noticed when Pyrrha's fingers twitched when Neo tilted her head to the side cutely and exposed her neck more to her. "D-Don't think you can… Can read my mind. Only Jaune can do that."

" _No."_ Neo signed with one hand, gently reaching out to grab Pyrrha's hand by her wrist, bringing it to her throat and closing the fingers around her neck under her owns, taking note when Pyrrha swallowed and licked her lips. " _I am an assassin, I read body language. Follow a person's eyes to where they are looking at you, show it off, get them alone to make your kill…"_ Neo let the hand go, leaning into the grip a bit, and Pyrrha squeezed experimentally. Too hard, and crushing her air pipe for a second, but Neo would let it go for now. To make the 'kill' here, so to speak. " _I know what you want. You have been looking at my lips, my throat, even my chest for a while now. Just take it. I'm offering it. Me and Jaune and you, sharing."_

"But isn't it…" Pyrrha paused, feeling Neo's breathing through her throat and rubbing her thumb along it gently. Curiously. Before she finished, she felt Neo's pulse rise and then felt her own mirror it. "Isn't it strange? We don't love each other, I… I can't help but despise you. But you… You're letting me… I could kill you right now, you wouldn't be able to stop me."

" _You could."_ Neo agreed, forcing her hands to hang at her sides limply, even though they craved that she fight, only allowing them to raise slightly enough to sign for the drone to translate from behind her. " _You could snap my neck, with a simple twist of your wrist, and I wouldn't be able to react. Even my Aura wouldn't stop it."_

"And yet you allow me to do this…" Pyrrha mused, squeezing experimentally and almost purring when Neo's eyes rolled closed and she leaned into her hand, playing the part even if she didn't enjoy it. "Why?"

" _Because it's the best result."_ Neo signed simply, and completely honestly. " _Either I do this, or we fight. One of us dies or leaves either way in that, and that hurts Jaune. Or we stay as we are, fighting, squabbling, and that hurts him too. Or I let you have Jaune, and I lose what I want. Between all of that, and letting you do what you want, it's an easy choice. So take what you want."_

"But I don't know what to…" Pyrrha flushed at the slip, even if she'd murmured it. She knew Neo couldn't have missed it, and when the smaller woman smirked cockily at her, Pyrrha sighed and finished, "I don't know what to do."

" _Whatever you want."_ Neo said simply. " _Experiment here, do whatever you like, so you won't hesitate when Jaune is there too. Or back down, and give up on him entirely. Up to you now. But if you don't take this now, don't dare try to fight me for Jaune later."_

"I won't give up on having him… He will be mine!" Pyrrha growled hostiley, pursing her lips when Neo raised an eyebrow. "But I don't…" She seemed to make a decision, pinning on the spot and slamming Neo into the tree hard enough her back ached, holding her up by her throat while the small woman gripped her forearm in very real fright. "I won't have you claiming I did something to you to Jaune, harlot. I won't let you manipulate him like that."

" _I won't breathe a word."_ Neo signed weakly with a hand, toes just barely scratching at the ground below her, and she blinked when Pyrrha stabbed her sword into the bark threateningly, " _I swear. I just want to fix things between us, for Jaune."_

Hesitantly, Pyrrha lowered her, leaving her weapon embedded in the wood, she licked her lips as Neo caught her breath, "You better keep your word. I won't wait long to speak to Jaune about it, if he doesn't come to me. You understand?" Neo nodded, and Pyrrha hesitated a moment before adding, "Don't do anything. Okay? Just hold still."

Neo nodded, and Pyrrha reached up to her chest, feeling the breasts under her fingers experimentally, unsurely. She was nervous, and inexperienced, and Neo could tell she had no idea what to do even as the Mistralian used her free hand to yank at her shoulder straps greedily, until Neo helped the redhead slide it down her shoulders and pull her breasts free. She closed her eyes wen Pyrrha knelt, kissing along the fleshy orbs searchingly, while her hand held Ne's throat and pinned her against the tree.

Neo sighed to herself, letting Pyrrha do whatever she wanted. This wasn't about the sex with her, not really. Neo had met her type… This was about Pyrrha dominating the one who had dominated her. Neo had violated Pyrrha, and Pyrrha was doing it right back, even if she couldn't condone _hurting_ Neo outright for it. Pyrrha's 'affections' were primal, demanding, painful in some ways, because this wasn't intimacy.

Jaune better appreciate what Neo did for him… Pyrrha had no idea what she was doing, and Neo couldn't even give her hints since she couldn't move to sign at the machines nearby.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"First, we should head through to Vale. I can pick up some smuggling stuff, and offload our other merchandise from here that needs to be there with the drones. Then we hit towns along the way to Vacuo, and then to Vale, then here and up to Atlas." Roman suggested, drawing lines along the map to show the large, L shaped circuit he had in mind. "It should make us enough money." " _To get by, at least… Until I get my contacts running things again."_

"You and Cinder are in charge of it, Roman." Jaune said distractedly, sighing and trying to pay attention through his worry. "I trust your judgements won't do anything that puts us behind." Even if the reason for that was less loyalty and more self-service, at least on Roman's part. "When can we get under way?"

"Could go now, if ya wanted. But gimme a few days to get everything loaded, make some… arrangements, so to speak, in a few of the settlements." " _And Vale, of course."_ Roman responded, leaning against the control console of the ship. "But if we leave too soon, we won't have all our stock from here. Which means less Lien wherever we stop, and we need supplies for the trip anyways. Food and water, among other things."

"If you wish, Master, we can go and visit your father. Perhaps he can help us with some supplies?" Cinder suggested, eyeing him worriedly when he grunted a response where he stood, leaning against the wall and staring at the floor. " _Is something wrong?"_ "I will go myself, if you wish."

"Pyr and I had a fight over Neo, and Neo went to talk to her." Jaune explained, pushing off the wall. "I'm… worried about her. Pyrrha was really upset, and Neo is still hurt. If Pyr starts an actual fight…"

"Here." Roman said, tossing a small silver Scroll at him, "Just swap through, drones would be with 'em out in the forest. And they gotta be there, we'd hear any fighting if they weren't. Especially when the redhead starts hurlin fireballs." " _Not that it's fun having cameras everywhere…"_

"You can access their video feed with it, it's the security chief's Scroll. Let's the officers in charge monitor things through the drones." Cinder explain for him, standing beside him politely and watching him open it and start flicking. "Unfortunately, we don't know which drones went with her, so you'll have to search for it."

"I got it." Jaune said, nodding a second time understandingly, "Cinder, get our supply situation handled if you can. Roman, plot out an exact course and get everything you need settled."

"Yes, Master." Cinder said reverently, bowing her head before turning and leaving.

"So, Boss Man, got any requests to stop in at along the way?" Roman asked, chuckling to himself. "Cuz we got nowhere, nowhere, Vale, and then _sandy_ nowheres all just waiting to be seen." " _Ugh, I hate sand… Coarse and rough… And damned if it doesn't just get everywhere!"_

Jaune finally found the right drone, and nearly choked as an image of Neo and Pyrrha on the ground, the Mistralian's chest piece laying next to her and her sash used to tie Neo's arms above her head while the two kissed aggressively and Pyrrha pressed against her, one hand wrapped around Neo's throat. Roman gave him a look and he closed the link and quietly tagged the location for droids to surround as the evening began to draw to a close, and the sun descended beyond the mountains.

"Just, uh, pick wherever you want. I'm gonna go and work out a bit." Jaune said simply, pushing off the wall and feeling… strangely relieved, honestly, not to have to worry about them being at each other's throats.

Well… Okay, so maybe they _were_ at each other's throats, but they weren't trying to kill each other. And that was at least a starting point, at least. But he hadn't expected _that_ to be how things turned out to say the least!

If he could stop stepping in 'strange' at some point, it would be quite nice.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter awoke to a gentle shaking of her shoulder, blinking up at the droid looming over her before stretching languidly, "Report."

"It is approximately six-forty-five in the evening, the sun is beyond the mountains in this region until you reach the settlement nearby and here, Specialist." The droid reported, using her rank to refer to her as it likely didn't know her name. Probably because she was off-record as being here. It held out a small pack to her, with some emergency supplies and a Scroll loaded with the information she'd requested, and added, "All supplies are prepared, Specialist, and you are cleared for your operation."

"Understood." She said, rising and stretching, pulling her muscles to limber them up. "Code Authorization : A-1-T-6-LAS."

"Recognized. Awaiting command input." The droid responded after a moment of running the code, Winter nodding.

"Send this order to all your networked droids." She ordered, the machine nodding slightly after a moment to update the parameters under the authorization code. "Wipe all record of my presence here from this point on from all networks you have access to. Classify it Tier viewable by General James Ironwood and Specialist Winter Schnee."

"Confirmed." Nodding, she stepped out and into the hallway, headed for the forest.

Headed for her _target_.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

By the time Pyrrha was done with her, Neo's back was aching from lying on it too long, the skin all along her back and arms was itchy from grass. She sat up and got to work fixing her leotard, pulling the clingy fabric across her tender, flushed, swollen orbs gently and grimacing at the discomfort it brought, her over-sensitive nipples sending aches through her chest when the fabric settled against it. Her neck was flushed and red, numerous bite marks, a couple scratches, and trailed kisses leaving it sensitive and aching as well, and Neo's lips were bruised by now. Aching and swollen a bit, from over-aggressive kisses and biting at her lips.

Absolutely nothing new to Neo, after her line of work.

Pyrrha sat a couple feet away from her, her back to her while she refastened her leather armor and adjusted the cloth she wore under it to prevent the chafe, her head hanging and hands shaky, and Neo sighed, waving at a droid to get its attention before signing, " _What's wrong?"_

"I don't…" She sighed, looking over her shoulder at Neo before turning back around, "I'm sorry. I… shouldn't have done that to you. It was wrong of me."

" _Yeah."_ Neo agreed, stretching once she'd stood up, trying to work out the kinks in her back and neck and grimacing when her back stung in pain. " _But that was the point. Let you work out your demons and have fun while you do it. Like I did to you."_

"But… You enjoyed it, and that makes sense. You're a sadist, you'd enjoy hurting people, right?" Neo nodded when she looked over her shoulder, Pyrrha pulling at her ponytail and playing with it absent-mindedly when she turned back around. "But… I'm not a sadist, and I'm not gay, so why did I…"

" _Enjoy it?"_ Neo asked, Pyrrha's head bobbing an affirmative and the duo falling into silence while Neo thought it through. " _Well… Are you sure about that?"_

"Quite sure." Pyrrha responded simply, giving Neo a look over her shoulder and watching her walk around to Pyrrha's front, looking very much not willing to get into it much further. "I know my sexuality, Neo. I am not so naive. And what I did, how it… felt. That's new. I've never been… 'into that', I suppose is how you'd say it."

" _Okay, well… You did that mind merging… thing with some chick right?"_ Pyrrha gave her a heavy look, her jaw hard and eyes lighting with anger, and Neo waved her hand in front of her to calm her down. " _Not disrespect, no disrespect. I just don't know much about it. How it works and, you know, what it does."_

"Neither do I, or the people who did the procedure." Pyrrha said quietly, turning away from Neo again to look out at the darkening forest around them and grimacing lightly. "I… It was an experiment, to see if it could work. If it could be done, the transferring of one's very soul into another person. It worked, at least I gained the powers of the Maiden. What was left anyway." The words sounded bitter, almost. Sour and agitated at the loss of the power she'd meant to have. "It hurts, you know. Aches, deep inside of me, nonstop. Like a hunger that can't be sated…"

" _I can sympathise."_ Neo signed, Pyrrha raising an eyebrow at her. " _My… Proclivities. The urges I have, to hurt people the way I love so much... it's always there too."_

"So what?" Pyrrha snarked up at her, Neo standing a little under two feet away and smiling down on her, somehow still feeling to Pyrrha as the one in control. Even after everything Pyrrha had just done, Neo was still completely confident in what she was. "We're some sort of… Comrades?"

" _I wouldn't go that far, no."_ Neo signed, " _We are both batshit insane though, in our own ways."_

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked quietly, eyes narrowing in suspicion when the girl squatted in front of her, tilting her head to the side almost cutely, but on Neo's face was more mocking than anything. "I'm… perfectly sane."

" _A perfectly sane person wouldn't have done what you did to me."_ Neo signed simply, Pyrrha flinching back as though struck by the accusation. " _She wouldn't have left everything she knew in Beacon, Vale and Mistral to get on a stolen warship, to be with a boy in a relationship with someone else, either."_

"And this is in your expert opinion on what a sane person is?" Pyrrha asked sarcastically, but Neo noticed it lacked a certain… Fire. The animosity Pyrrha had held towards her was gone, as far as she could tell.

" _No, it's in my expert opinion on_ insane _people."_ Neo responded, crossing her legs and sitting in front of the Mistralian while the redheaded champion thought and listened, two things Neo never would have expected previously. " _You, my red haired hate-fucker, are as messed up in the head as I ever was. And I think it's because of what they did to you."_

"They… I did have some issues with memory, when the procedure first finished. My name, my home town, even my Semblance took time to come back." Pyrrha said, grimacing at something though Neo wasn't sure what. Either it was what had happened, or it was because she was opening up about this to _Neo_ of all people. "They… Warned me of the chances of my mind being warped by the procedure. But… I just wanted to help."

" _The road to the Grimmlands are paved with good intentions. And dead Huntsman, but no one ever adds that part, usually."_ Neo signed simply, " _But I don't hold it against you. You did what you had to to get what you wanted. I can respect that."_

"I'm sure…" Pyrrha groused, sighing and tucking her hair back over her shoulder. "But… That doesn't explain why I was…" She sighed, gesturing to the bite marks and bruises on Neo's neck, even as her Aura worked at healing them "That. It doesn't explain all _that_."

" _Why not?"_

"Well… Amber was a woman too, so it doesn't make sense that our merging would-"

" _Was. She. Gay?"_ Neo signed slowly, so Pyrrha would get where the small assassin's thought processes had gone.

"I-I, uh…" Pyrrha blinked as she thought about it, shrugging after a second. "I do not know. They… didn't tell me anything about her, really. Beyond what I needed to know to become the Maiden. But… That would make some sense, I suppose."

" _Yeah, it would."_ Neo nodded, smirking cockily. " _I wasn't sure until we were out here, kinda suspected it though for a while."_

"Why?"

" _Intuition."_ Neo signed simply, shrugging when Pyrrha made a dissatisfied face at the revelation. " _What? I'm a killer-for-hire. Intuition has saved my cute little ass more times than anyone has even seen it. It was just a suspicion, 'til I came out here."_

"So all that about letting me cut on you, that was a bluff?" Neo shook her head, leaning over and fishing in her pocket for a minute before holding up a small black oval. Clicking it, a silver knife sprange out, edged in a red metal that Pyrrha recognized instantly. Pyrrha blinked, "You were serious? Why?"

" _Same reason you do all the crazy shit you do."_ Neo said simply, closing the knife and returning it to her pocket. " _Jaune. He needs us, collective, supportive and friendly enough. Not hurling tables across the room and screaming at each other. Well, you screaming. I can't do that."_

"You're… right." Pyrrha said, sighing and bringing her knees up to her chest, resting her chin there and taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry about what I did, still."

" _Forget about it."_ Neo shrugged, " _As long as you got all that tension out of your system, I'm good as gold Dust."_

"I… Do feel better, yes." Pyrrha sighed, watching Neo for a long moment. "But… What now?"

" _What do you mean, 'what now'?"_ Neo asked, genuinely confused at the question.

"I mean what do we do? What do we tell Jaune?" Pyrrha groaned, pressing her forehead against her knees. "Ugh, I don't even know if my mental state is stable now! I thought I was fine, and now this. What happens when I start losing it again? Why on Remnant is something like _this_ eating away at me, out of everything? I have so many questions now..."

" _I can't help with most of your stuff there, Red."_ Neo said, shrugging when Pyrrha peeked over her knees at the smaller woman with a dour expression. " _Best I can do is offer to let you work out any tension you build up. On my own, until you know what you're doing."_

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, sounding almost affronted.

" _Girl, you had no idea what you were doing."_ Neo said, leaning forward enough to pat her knee condescendingly. " _It's fine, it wasn't like you were focused on me anyways. You were havin' fun, that's all. And I doubt you've ever gone to third base with a woman before."_

"No…" Pyrrha admitted, sighing and looking up at the darkening sky, "The sun has sunken beyond the mountains. Soon, it will sink behind the horizon as well. We should return soon, before it becomes too dark to see."

" _Yeah."_ Neo agreed, hopping up and offering the Mistralian her hand. Pyrrha looked at it, then to Neo with a curious expression, and the woman rolled her eyes, " _What? We're good now. Right?"_

"Right." Pyrrha agreed hesitantly, letting Neo pull her up, looking down at the woman with narrow eyes and a fist on her cocked hip. "I won't forget what you did to me though. But… For Jaune, I will put it behind me."

" _Fair enough."_ Neo agreed, Pyrrha turning to head back towards the ship.

Smirking, Neo stepped past her, giving her a harsh enough slap on her behind as she did and taking off as soon as Pyrrha squeaked. "Y-You harlot!" Summoning her weapons back to her, she rolled her eyes and followed Neo into the forest, calling out, "That was quite rude!"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune sensed them well before they reached the cafeteria, Neo rounding the corner at a run with a mischievous smiled and leaping up to slide across his table and hide behind him as Pyrrha rounded the corner, glaring until she saw Neo hiding behind Jaune. She stopped on the other side of the table, cocking her hip and resting her shield's rim on the table threateningly, and Jaune looked between the two in concern for a moment.

"Don't hide behind him, Neo." Pyrrha growled quietly, looking at Jaune too, "And don't _you_ let her."

"Uh, what did she do?" He asked, holding a hand up to tell a droid carrying his food to wait, the machine obediently stopping a few feet away with the tray in its hands. He flushed though when he thought of all the things they obviously _did_ , and Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "I-I mean, not that you have to… You know, tell me."

"If you must know, she keeps slapping my behind whenever I'm not paying attention. It is as annoying as it is demeaning." " _Even if it feels somewhat nice in a weird way..."_ "I-I didn't… You weren't… Jaune, ignore that." Pyrrha explained, flushing lightly at it and scowling when Neo snickered mutely behind him. "Little harlot."

" _She loves it, don't let her fool you."_ Neo said to him, Jaune rolling his eyes at her.

"I take it you two… worked out your differences?" He asked, flushing again as their 'work out' popped into his mind again. Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at it and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "The, uh, drones have a Control Scroll. And it… taps into their video feeds."

"C-Cameras?" Pyrrha stammered, her shield falling from her arm as her Semblance failed her and her face turned a color to match her hair, the hand covering her mouth embarrassedly as Jaune felt a assault of shame, shock and other emotions he couldn't identify. "S-So you saw… We… Video of us…" He nodded and she fell into a chair, holding her head in her hands and whining weakly, "Gods…" " _That's not fair! Not at all!"_

" _Wait, those have cameras in them?"_ Neo asked, signing so one of the droids could speak for her, mainly for Pyrrha's benefit. " _Like, the footage is saved? Permanently? On the ship's memory whatevers?"_

"Yeah." Jaune confirmed, Neo leaning against his shoulder and smirking at Pyrrha.

"I'm not ready for this…" She whimpered, head slowly falling to the table with a muted thud, her face turned to the side as her ears burned red. " _What did you see, Jaune?"_

"J-Just your back. You were, um… On top of Neo." He explained, Pyrrha groaning weakly as she remembered her state of undress at the time. "I d-didn't, you know, see anything though. But, uh, what was all that about?"

" _Long story short? Amber was probably gay, Pyrrha is straight, and that got mixed up."_ Neo explained, Jaune nodding as she 'spoke' through the drone holding his food. " _So basically, extreme sexual frustration, a_ lot _issues with that, and her being pissed about what I did to her."_

"How does that translate to…" Jaune trailed off, sparing Pyrrha a glance where she lay on the table before sighing, How does hat translate to her choking you out and doing… Stuff to you, in the forest?"

" _I dunno. Best I could think up, since she kept looking at my tits."_

"I was not looking at your… chest." Pyrrha groaned weakly, "Don't make this worse… Please?"

" _Fine, my neck and my lips."_ Neo sighed, rolling her eyes, " _And they are very sore, by the way! She is very, very kinky, as it turns out. Always the last one you expect, huh?"_

"N-Neo!" Pyrrha groaned, standing up and leaning over the table to glare at the woman and giving an accidental show of the expanse of skin above her bust. "S-Stop teasing me!" Neo pointed, and Pyrrha flushed, slamming back into her seat, "Can we… eat please. I'm quite hungry."

" _I bet, she worked up_ quite _the appetite. And to think, she spent so much time_ biting _and never actually_ ate anything _while we were out there."_ Neo snarked, the two at the table both groaning that time.

 _Now_ what had Jaune gotten himself into, for Oum's sake?

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **So, just gonna… Do a lump response here. I understand that the way Jaune handled Pyrrha in the last chapter was abrasive, dismissive and wrong in a wide, wide variety of ways. That was the intent. Hence the chapter titles, Confrontation and Resolution. I considered this chapter being part of the LAST chapter, but elected against it as it would have been far longer than I normally make them, and I try to at least be consistent THERE.**

 **Jaune isn't perfect. Sure, he can read minds and emotions, but so? Something the X-Men rarely touches on is learning how to comprehend what you feel. What does Jaune feel from Pyrrha? Grief, confusion, pain, an echo of Amber in there somewhere, desire and obsession. He can empathise because of his ability, but he fails to understand.**

 **Bear in mind though that this isn't supposed to be a wholly healthy relationship either. Not entirely, at least. The relationships here are mostly dependent ones or codependent ones. Which is surprisingly common, especially among people in their younger years. So yes, this is not a healthy relationship. And also yes, that is quite on purpose. You can't throw a sadistic sociopath, a mind slave, a career criminal and a teenager together in a situation like this and get** _ **any**_ **healthy relationships.**

 **So, sorry for the issues there and please bear these considerations in mind. I hadn't thought that through. If I had considered this issue, the internal argument of a short or long chapter kinda… pales with the reaction that received. I even made this one longer to fully explain Pyrrha's problems, and so on, so I hope to have fixed that issue. Just another part of exploring her mental state and the effects of merging two human minds.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **ChimaTigon :**_

 **Sorta?**

 _ **The Plan Man :**_

 **Yeah. I think it stems from the idea that all relationships are, or should be, entirely healthy. That therefore Neo and Jaune's relationship is bad, and Pyrrha would be better, though she is obsessed. People are… complicated more than that allows though.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **It was also only half the conversation, as you have no doubt figured out.**

 _ **Josh Spicer :**_

 **Yes. She does. But he heart isn't rational. Arguments, while logical, aren't what sways it.**

 _ **CJ Hoax :**_

 ***coughs quietly***

 _ **Zenith Tempest :**_

 ***coughs again***

 _ **Althos Hol :**_

 **I may steal that, actually, for a separate fic.**

 _ **Duplicate User Name :**_

 **It's less unfocused than you might think. This entire segment of this story is all prep, fixing the issues between people and establishing a working friendship of some kind. That's the focus, so Pyrrha's troubles and the arguments and fights, they're well within what needs be done. It's also an effort to narrow the cast down, for a more focused story, ironically.**

 **Only mentioning it because my PM didn't address it. Wanted to actually show it first then tell you.**


	5. Interlude and Intrude

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings**

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, I and the channel are struggling financially. So please, if you can, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune sighed almost sadly, looking down on the dented, damaged helmet in his hands where he sat on the edge of the bed while Neo got dressed on the other side. He ran a thumb along the side, the dents and damage done to it from Hazel's attacks at Salem's castle adopting a warm sheen of light as the sun crested the mountains around his ship and lit the forest and Ansel in a warm orange glow. This mask was a gift from Salem, and he _knew_ she had to be watching from somewhere and that wearing it would mean something to her regardless of whether he meant it that way or not. But he needed it, at least when it wasn't just him and Neo spending time together.

He'd… Lost himself, he'd found. Lost who he was, before all this. Changed, from a man who simply wanted a title, to a man protecting what he wanted and taking what he wanted if he didn't already have it. He was _done_ letting people step all over him, that was still the truth, but…

He couldn't beat Salem and Ozpin, just to turn _into_ them after everything he'd been through and done just to make it where he was now. Not that where he was now was particularly amazing, or safe even, but it was the best he could have hoped for until now.

" _You're going to start wearing it again."_ Neo said, Jaune looking up at her as she came to him, looking at it with a flat, unreadable face. " _It's because of Nikos, isn't it?"_

"Yeah." He admitted as an answer to both items, nodding and sighing when she frowned. "I'm… Turning into something I hate, Neo. I'm starting to manipulate people, to use them. And… I can't turn into that. I left Ozpin for less than that, he can't read minds and use the information to control people." Looking at the small woman, he said, "I can, and that can't be allowed. _I_ can't allow it, Neo."

She let out a puff of breath, taking a seat next to him on the bed with her jacket in her hands. " _You're scared of losing who you are. Yeah?"_

"Yeah." He answered, grimacing and taking a deep breath. "I… I need this, at least for now. I don't want to use people, or… Or use their emotions against them, or their attachment. I did that to Pyrrha and… And I was lucky that we salvaged _something_ out of that at all. Even if it is kinda..." He wanted to say weird, but let it hang for a moment and added, "odd."

" _I did what I could."_ Neo answered, " _But… I get it. I like who you are, I don't want that to change. I just…"_ He felt a spike of fear, possessiveness, and other emotions he couldn't understand and she took a shaky breath, " _I-If we can't talk like this, if you can't… Feel me the way you do…"_

"I still love you." He said simply, the girl looking at him in surprise at the frankness, eyes flashing to pink at the sudden assertion and her shoulders stiffening. He smiled, "I will love you even if, out in public at least, I need to use a drone to speak to you. O-Or sign language, or whatever. And when it's just us, I won't wear the helmet. I just… Need it for other people."

" _Do you promise?"_ Neo asked, nervous hesitation rolling off her in waves.

"I promise." He honestly answered, putting an arm around her to hold her and leaning in to steal a kiss. When he pulled back, leaning his forehead against hers and letting her lean against his chest, he added, "Just bear with it for now? Until we can figure out something else to control my powers."

" _Okay then. I won't fight you over it when I know you've made up your mind."_ A hand reached up, tracing the outline of his scar on his stomach where Cinder had stabbed him. It was too small for Neo to feel, but she knew where it was by now, the small line on his flesh marking his wound forever. " _But don't turn against it. It's a part of you now, Jaune. Don't turn your back on your abilities, you'll just get hurt for it."_

"Speaking from experience?" She hummed a response, leaning her head against his neck and just breathing, and he set the helmet aside to pull her into his lap and hold her ther. He could sense her emotions and her thoughts, fear mixing with an anxiety he only partially understood.

He also knew he couldn't say anything else to her to help. She just needed to be held.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune finished tightening the straps of his breastplate, checking in the mirror that it looked alright - scarification notwithstanding - and sighed as Neo stepped up beside him, dressed and with her parasol in one hand, offering his helmet to him. He took it from her and mumbled a thanks before sliding it on, the familiar feel of the helmet as comforting as it was _dis_ comforting to him. A reminder of Salem, everywhere he'd go from here.

"Master." Cinder greeted as soon as he stepped out the door, noting the helmet he wore, at least as far as he could tell from the ways hers eyes sharpened and she seemed to depress slightly, "Roman wanted me to tell you he'll be busy today, using the drones to load up the cargo your father wanted us to transport and then plotting out a path to deliver it all and meet his own contacts." He nodded and turned to walk towards the Mess, the woman following on his other side from Neo, "Your father also sent a message, your sisters wish to see you. Apparently, the twins were quite insistent."

"Headed to see him now, so I'll visit them as well." Jaune said quickly, "How are the drones, now that I think about it?"

"They need better maintenance than we can provide, frankly, Master." Cinder answered honestly, sighing as she followed him, "They are fine for now, I assure you, but… This ship needs technical crew to run it. Drones can't handle more than basic maintenance, and they can't even perform _that_ on themselves. The engines, for instance, will need to be maintained at some point. We can do it in Vale, but…"

"But we'd need to register the ship with a mechanic or something, and that'd draw attention?" Jaune half-asked, Neo grabbing a droid and signing her demands to it as they walked. Cinder nodded and he sighed, "Okay, so what can we do about that?"

"Hire on someone for the job, honestly, Master." She answered, sighing at the prospect, "We can last for now, Master, but the ship itself… Requires more than anyone here is able to give. Shall I see if Roman can find a solution to that?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what he'll find. If he ends up finding something for this too, I will seriously question why the man was ever a thief." Or why he worked for Cinder at all, Jaune kept to himself. It would have only dredged up things she didn't want to think about, and it wouldn't even manage to accomplish anything. "Do you have anything we could use?"

"Mercury would be helpful, honestly." She said after a moment's though, "His legs require routine maintenance on the complex mechanisms. He told me once upon a time that he was quite adept at mechanical maintenance, usually. Well enough to learn how to maintain his legs easily than the maker of them thought he could, at the very least, Master."

"But we don't know where he is." Jaune groaned as they rounded the door into the cafeteria, Pyrrha looking up from her food and waving brightly at them. She at least _looked_ a lot more comfortable, but… Jaune was still unsure what to make of everything, with Pyrrha or everything else he was caught up in now.

They took a seat together to eat, Pyrrha raising an eyebrow at him curiously, "You're wearing your helmet again?"

"Yeah." He sighed, Neo scooting her chair closer to his needily. "I… Wanted to keep myself in check, from now on. My powers were starting to run away with me, that's why yesterday I..." Neo thumped a foot against his shin and he looked down on her, the small woman shaking her head for him not to get into it, "Nevermind, I guess. I just wanted more control over when I use my Semblance and when I don't, honestly."

"I suppose that makes sense." Pyrrha agreed, smiling warmly and sparing Neo a glance before making a point of avoiding her eyes. Instead, she leaned forward to speak to Jaune, "I-I remember when I awakened my Semblance. My family had to use plastic silverware for months while I adjusted. They kept getting… stuck to me."

An image in Jaune's imagination of a younger Pyrrha with spoons and forks covering her hands made Jaune choke for a moment, and the Mistralian gave him a curious look. Waving the look off, he stammered, "Y-Yeah, I guess yours might be a problem, huh?"

"Only for a while." She agreed, nodding and sighing as she tossed her knife in the air and used her Semblance to call it back to her. "But with some practice, it is _very_ useful to have around. Almost ridiculously, frankly. Metal is, after all, a preferred material to use in making weapons and armor. My opponents quite literally come dressed as my weapons."

"Yeah, they're useful in the whole not 'dying' part of our career." Jaune remarked, chuckling as a drone brought over a grilled cheese for him. Light meal before he headed out, the twins were liable to try and force a meal down his throat regardless. "So Pyr, gonna head into Ansel to see the Twins later, you wanna come? I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

"Sure, Jaune." She said quietly, an odd look on her face for a moment before she seemed to brighten. "I-I'd love to meet your family, in a more… Personal way, I mean."

"As opposed to a strict 'you ran away' kind of thing?" Jaune asked, the Mistralian grimacing slightly but nodding. "Yeah, kinda want you to too. You, then Neo and Cinder and then Roman. I want you guys to get closer, close enough that they'll be willing to take you in." He paused, looking at the table sadly as he thought, "I don't think any of us have anywhere else now, really."

A strangely somber and depressing silence reigned for a few moments and Jaune took the moment to wolf down the small meal, the awkward feeling of the moment only ending when Neo spoke through her droid, " _So, I can't go see the cute little kids? I promise not to spoil them or anything."_

"Later, Neo." He said after a second of thought, "I need to ease the family into everyone, get them used to me being back too while I'm there. If I take _you_ of all people down there, they'll spend the whole time fawning over you."

" _Fiiiiiine."_ The droid translated for her, voice warbling oddly as it tried to mimic the human inflections. " _But I wanna meet the little ones next time. I love kids. They're so cute."_ She clapped her hands and bounced in her seat with an oddly wide, toothy smile, and everyone gave her an odd look, the small woman looking around in confusion before signing, " _What?"_

"That was… unnerving." Pyrrha said simply, rising from her seat and looking to Jaune with a gesture at the door with a wave. "Shall we, then?"

"Yeah, probably should get going." Jaune agreed, shoving the last bit of his food down his mouth as he stood and turned to Cinder, "Work with Roman. I want a fully fleshed out plan by tomorrow. Supplies we need, people we need to get our hands on, all of that. And I need Roman to get in touch with his contacts, see if anyone has seen Emerald or Mercury. Neo, go and have your back checked out."

"They know too much to be left alone, Master. I was going to suggest similar myself." Cinder agreed with a small smile, inclining her head and rising respectfully as he left while Neo pouted in her seat. "I hope you enjoy your time with your family."

"I… hope I will." He sighed, nodding a goodbye to the two and leaving.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter watched Jaune disembark from his ship and start making his way up the hill towards Ansel with her body pressed close against one of many trees closer to the mountains, sometimes waving at workers milling about. That they returned the gesture with friendly, if distracted and mildly tired, waves told Winter several things. Chief among them, Jaune was welcome here. He wasn't forcing his presence here, the people welcomed him into their settlement. Droids nearest to where the civilians were working in some places to help them, carrying loads or assisting with other menial tasks.

Why? It made little sense for him to spend his resources, limited as they were, helping these people. What did he gain?

Shaking her head, she channeled her Aura into a small glyph that spun to life in her hand, a clock spinning faster and faster with every passing second. In her other, she held a small tracker up and took careful aim with the glyph, dropping the small silver disk into her hand. It shot from the glyph as soon as it hit, arcing high, and Winter watched closely to make sure it landed. When she was sure it had attached without being noticed, she ducked behind the tree she'd been pressed against, fishing out her Scroll. It only took a few minutes to confirm that the bug was active, and she went to work at the systems of the ship.

Bypassing the security was therefore child's play, especially for her, and within minutes she was checking through the cameras for people ahead of her infiltration. Roman and Cinder were on the bridge, talking about something, and they looked engrossed so it was likely they'd be there for a while. She tagged them in her Scroll's monitoring systems anyways, just in case.

Next she searched for Neo, the lethal assassin that she was, finding her in the halls of the ship, seemingly wandering about near the medical section of the ship. Or the pseudo-medical area, at least, the rooms looked to have been changed to fit the need. A single woman sat, bored looking and a Faunus to boot, and Winter tagged both of them as well. The woman was unarmed and unarmored and probably a medic, but better safe than sorry.

The final step was… a bit trickier.

Running a program on the Scroll, she went through the multi-step task of overriding the drone network's security systems and adding herself to the authorization list. Something that _sounded_ a hell of a lot easier than it ended up being. The system was multi-tiered, with redundant receivers and protocol systems all tied to an on-ship command Scroll she didn't have, and that she would have to get past the very network she needed access to in order to accomplish that.

Which would mean getting aboard the ship.

Which was her goal in the first place.

"This is going to take a while…" She sighed, turning to watch the town with a frown. "I hope you don't try and run off before I can get on your ship, you damned traitor."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The twins were the youngest in their family, assuming his father and mother didn't put another bun in the oven some time soon, and easily the most excitable. Airi and Cairi, both blonde with short, bowl cuts hair and bright blue eyes, wearing simple red button down shirts and denim shorts with thin, wiry frames normal for kids their age, especially active ones like you had to be in a settlement like Ansel. The only real way to tell them apart was Cairi's scar, a small slash above her left eyebrow from a rock the two had been throwing back and forth when they were younger.

And both of them slammed into his waist hard enough to drive him back out into the hallway, past his father and Pyrrha both, and into the wall across the hall with twin screams of, "Jaune!" He hit the wall and slid down, the girls crawling all over him, poking at his damaged armor, and the helmet, Cairi poking his chin under it as they barraged him with questions until their father grabbed them both by the backs of their pants and hauled them up, twin whines of "Daaaaaaad!" sounding out.

"You two behave and calm down, or I will have your mother give you more assignments." They whined and he dropped them, Pyrrha offering Jaune a hand up as the man sighed and pointed at the library with a stern grunt.

"But we wanna know why his outfit is all dinged up!" Cairi whined, Airi nodding enthusiastically. "And why's he wearing that funny helmet?"

"It's probably cuz he's ugly." Airi said with a sad bob of her head, shrugging her shoulders and holding up her hands in a gesture of 'oh well'. "I guess it was about time he realize. At least he finally understands, after all this time. Took ya long enough."

"Actually, it's because my Semblance is so powerful you could get hurt!" Jaune teased with a bright laugh, chasing after the girls who squealed and ran into the library to escape his tickling fingers. Jaune stopped just inside the door, turning to Pyrrha with a smile she could see even with the helmet on, his eyes sparking brightly and happily. He noticed her slight hesitation in the door, his father ust behind her. "They're a handful, but they're good kids. They'll like you, Pyr, just relax and let 'em get used to you."

"Are you our big brother's fiance?" Cairi asked, surprising them both and appearing at Pyrrha's hips, hugging a leg from behind, her head barely poking over Pyrrha's hips.

"We know he has one! Mama said he did, and that we could meet her eventually." Airi added from her other side, Pyrrha blushing and trying to stammer out a response as the two girls wrapped arms around her thighs and hugged her excitedly.

"U-Um, well, I'm not his fiance, no, I'm his-"

"Hey Airi, she looks familiar to me." Cairi interrupted, leaning forward and giving her sister a look. "Doesn't she?"

"Yeah!" Airi answered, Pyrrha giving Jaune and his father a suffering, helpless look as the two men pushed by and into the small, cozy library, bookshelves surrounding and stacked high with all manner of texts, a desk against the back wall with scattered papers and writing utensils. "But where do we recognize her from, Sis?"

"Jaune-"

"Give 'em a minute." He sighed, plopping into one of two large, comfortable chairs against a bookcase. "They'll cool off once they get used to you, Pyr, I prom-"

"Pumpkin Pete's!" The two yelled excitedly at the same time, startling Pyrrha while the two male Arcs sighed. Pyrrha squeaked as they redoubled their efforts to climb the person they'd latched to, Pyrrha unfortunately inexperienced in handling two squirming children, quickly buckling and collapsing with a dull thud as they wormed their way on top of her, barraging her with questions.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha cried out from under the girls, a hand flailing in the air desperately. "H-Help me!"

"Hey, if they want to crawl all over a cereal box mascot, they can." He heard Pyrrha's whine and chuckled, resting a foot on his knee and sighing. "Just means they won't get to hear any stories." The reaction was instant, the two girls launching off Pyrrha at Jaune as he slid from his seat to a kneeling position, catching Cairi by an arm and spinning her to his other side before grabbing Airi with the same hand and pulling them into his lap. Sliding into a cross-legged position while Pyrrha sat up and fussed with her messed up hair, he chuckled, "Hey, helmet stays on, stop poking, Airi."

"Why though? It's ugly!" The twins both complained, snuggling against his chest as he relaxed, head reclining against the chair behind him.

"That's… That's a story for later. For now, wanna hear about my first real fight with a Grimm?" The two nodded, and Jaune took a nice, long breath. "So, first off, Pyrrha had to get me out of a tree…."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter clicked her Scroll shut, slinking from the forest and towards the ship's ramp, smirking as she walked up it and not a single droid paid her any heed. Now she needed to look around, gather information about Jaune's plans and goals, and record it. And trap him, of course, if she could manage it. But how _could_ she manage that?

She could have the drones take him and force him back to the Atlesian base. They recognized her as crew now, and getting the override codes to the command console would be possible now, even if it was tricky to do… But how would she get past Roman and Cinder, the console she needed was only on the bridge, unless it was destroyed in which case it would reroute to the Captain's Quarters and then Engineering if that was destroyed as well. But she was sorely lacking in explosives on that level, or the willingness to start a fight with Roman, Cinder and the forces of Ansel who would surely respond to any attack she might be perceived to be staging against the settlement. Eliminating a warship and its drones would be a good strategy for such an attack, for many obvious reasons.

She ducked into a room to check the camera systems, Roman and Cinder still on the Command deck for the ship, the woman literally leaning against the console she needed to get access to. Which was… typical, honestly, to have happen to her.

So how would she be able to get them out of the room?

"Ma'am." She turned to a droid as it approached, the silver 'face' looking at her respectfully even though she was skulking in an apparently underused room. "It is nearing meal time. Would you like to place an order?"

"Meal…" Winter smiled, "Yes, and one for the other members of the crew. As a surprise, to… raise the mood on the ship." It'd be a surprise all right… "Now, do exactly as I say."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Xealxhim :**_

 **Depends on what you define as a resolution. I define it as a solution to a person's issues under a circumstance or in a situation. In this instance, Pyrrha's. She was angry, wanted payback, but too kind to just hurt someone like that. Combined with Amber's own psyche and traumas affecting her.**

 _ **Impossible Muffin :**_

 **I agree with you, but the voice in my head doesn't. And says I should off Neo. Painfully. It's rude though, so ignore it.**

 _ **Blazin' Hot Head :**_

 **Shush, you. And yes, you should get a Worm vibe.**

 _ **Emperor King Perby :**_

… **.. What is a 'wide-on'?**

 _ **Arukon :**_

 **Yeah, I feel as though people neglect the fact that for possibly a couple solid months, Jaune was b himself with just Neo and actually Satan and her minions for company. The one and only who didn't want him doing some nefarious fuckery was Neo, and she was even along to protect him.**

 **People seem to neglect that in their judgements. Honestly, what did Pyrrha do that Jaune** _ **asked for**_ **here? As in, what did he ask her to do and what did she decide to do of her own accord? End of the day, she was trying to do things to** _ **make him**_ **hers, not simply get him free. She even outright states she would 'get him back' several times. Neo didn't. Everyone around him wanted Jaune, and worked to take him, in one way or another. Except her.**


	6. A Knight and Winter's Chill

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings**

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, I and the channel are struggling financially. So please, if you can, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It took very little time for Winter to put her plan in place, such as it was, even with the constraints placed on her by the very minor infiltrations she was able to make on the ship's systems. The previous owner hadn't even removed the Atlesian registry, and she had been enlisted for a long time by now, so she was able to simply insert herself in a 'crew transfer' of sorts, as far as the ship's security systems were concerned.

Just a member of the crew, like Jaune himself and everyone else.

Luckily, the droids didn't question why she was hiding out in a closet close to the cafeteria, watching Roman and Cinder on her Scroll impatiently as they mulled about in the cafeteria, nibbling on food. Eventually, the pint-sized assassin joined them with a dour expression, plopping into a chair and kicking her legs boredly with her head lying on a table behind the seat. None of them noted with any real concern the extra few droids in the halls nearby, milling about and doing menial tasks, or the extra four in the cafeteria. Every single piece was perfectly in place… So long as Jaune didn't happen to sense her, which was a long shot at best. From what she understood though, identifying people at range required effort. He had no reason to put that effort into looking now, though.

He had no idea she was here, and little reason to suspect it. Even if he did, he'd have to get to the cafeteria - well inside her trap - to get to his friends. And knowing she was there wasn't the same as knowing her _plan_. So hopefully, he wouldn't think to try anything about it. A lot of assumptions she was being forced to make, but he was an amateur, if she remembered him properly. It was unlikely he would think out her plan.

Where the hell was Jaune? What was he even doing in Ansel that took so long? It had to be important for him and Nikos to have both gone. She couldn't spring her trap until he got there…

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"And that's why your armor is all dinged up?" Cairi asked, Jaune nodding at the question. She giggled and poked one of the dents, "That's such a silly story, Jaune! There's no way you could kill a Huntsman! They're unkillable! Right, Papa?"

"Yep." His dad answered, forcing a stiff chuckle from the chair next to Jaune's, "Completely unkillable! Just like your old man, right here." He gave Jaune a look, a once over that glanced over his armor and lingered on Crocea Mors at his waist, "And… The scrawny kid I knew who wasn't worth trainin' couldn't hold a candle to a real warrior like us Huntsman."

That Jaune wasn't the same person as he had been was both a compliment, and a fear. How much had he truly changed if even his dad felt that way? For once, he was almost entirely missing his Semblance's benefits. What had his father meant, exactly?

"Lying is bad, Jaune!" Airi scolded him lightly, thumping his armored chest a few times with her small fist and pouting. "You shouldn't tell us stories like that! It's mean!"

"I thought you wanted story time?" He chuckled when his mother pushed open the door, smiling at the display. Sighing, Jaune gave the girls a nudge, "Go with mom, okay? Time to get back to studying or something." The girls whined at him, and he shook his helmeted head, "No. Storytime is over, it's time to go with your mother."

The girls whined again, but did as they were told, shuffling towards the older woman with pouting faces, and Jaune relaxed against the chair with a sigh, looking at his father when he spoke, "They missed you when you left, you know. Cairi was so upset she didn't eat for two whole days, just stayed in her room the whole time. And Airi didn't know what to do about her, none of us did."

"I did what I thought I had to do." Jaune said simply, taking a deep breath as Pyrrha grimaced at the sudden shift in tone in the room. "I won't apologize for it. I don't think I did anything wrong, and I would do it again if I were back in that position, so… If I did say sorry, it would just be a lie. To make myself feel better."

"Standin' by what you did, even if it was wrong?" The older Arc chuckled, scratching at his chin and nodding. After a few seconds, he looked to Pyrrha, "And what do you think about all this? You're all wrapped up in his shit, you have to have thought about things at least a bit, right?" Pyrrha hesitated, and his father's voice boomed at it, "Don't let him keep your tongue unless you're in his bed, girl, that's the only place he needs to worry about what you're doin' with it."

"S-Sir!" Pyrrha flushed brightly, stiffening where she sat on the floor and stammering, "I-I would… That is to say, I haven't been bedded by him." Coughing into her fist, Pyrrha took a breath and spoke, "I believe that every man and woman can do only what they think in their hearts is right. Perhaps what Jaune did was… Wrongly done, but it has shifted the world's state in a way no one else could have. Perhaps peace may even be attainable."

"We're _at_ peace, not war, Nikos." Jacques scoffed, shaking his head. "What war are we fightin' that I don't know about?"

"The war with the Grimm has never ended, dad." Jaune said quietly, the man flinching at the implications. "We've never _been_ at peace, ever. Not really. We stop killing each other for pointless reasons for a while, but the Grimm?" He sighed and shook his head, "Salem's war against Ozpin has never ended. People have been dying every day since the dawn of history. _That_ is the war we can end, dad."

"Assuming we can force Ozpin and Salem to terms, of course." Pyrrha added, smiling as diplomatically at Jacques' affronted look. "Jaune can perhaps convince Salem against continuing the needless killing Human and Faunus alike have faced. It is, at least, a possibility. Something which couldn't have ever been said in the past, so far as I know at the very least."

"That's insane..." Jacques said, and when Pyrrha's mouth opened to retort, Jaune held up a finger. After a moment of thought, staring off into space with his eyes bouncing between invisible figures, something Jaune had seen a lot when he was younger, Jacques spoke, "But it… I mean, it's as possible as all the other shit you've pulled, which means it's impossible but… I mean, you've done that already."

"This is all just theory at any rate." Pyrrha said quietly, sighing as she rose and stretched, legs stiff from sitting on the floor for too long. "For now, we ought to merely concern ourselves with our survival. Anything beyond that is… Presumptuous at best, frankly. For now, we intend to focus on that."

"The freight will all be together by mornin'. Your robots can load it for you, and you can go with my blessing." He sighed, the old Huntsman's head lolling back to rest against the chair. "Please, don't start anything or drag Ansel into anything while you're out there? We don't have the manpower for this kind of crazy shit, so don't piss off your Grimm-Queen bitch with some stupid spat, got it?"

"I- We are not together, dad!" Jaune sputtered, standing stiffly from his seat and taking a breath. More serious, he looked at the man, "Seriously, dad. Don't take Salem's desires lightly, she'd see every Kingdom on Remnant scorched if she believed it would force me to her side."

"So…" The man swallowed nervously, giving his son's words some thought. "Why doesn't she?"

"Because she knows I would sooner die than allow that." He said simply, laying his off hand on the damage to his breastplate purposefully. "Even knowing I would die, she knows I would fight her with every last thing I have. And then she'd be all alone again, for centuries more and longer." He started towards the door, mood soured beyond repair and glowering under his helmet, "And she is not one to risk what she really wants."

"G-Good day, sir." Pyrrha said politely, following Jaune out of the room.

Guards waved or nodded their heads at Jaune when he passed, even under the helmet they recognized the scion of the Arc line, and heads turned to follow Pyrrha as she trailed behind him respectfully. She was used to the looks, the leering gazes of men and even women with perverted intent. Fighters with analytical stares following the way she moved, the way her body flowed as she moved, the fluidity and power her muscles held that everyone could see if they knew how to look.

And she ignored them all, only closing the few feet between Jaune and herself and speaking when they exited the settlement's gates, "Jaune, your shoulders are stiff. Everyone can tell you're tense, and they don't need a touch of your power to do it."

"I just…" He paused, a dozen steps from the gate, looking at the ship far down the hill for a long moment. "Where do I go from here, now? What am I supposed to do? The life of a trader isn't, I don't know… It just feels anticlimactic, I guess."

"We're not at out climax yet, Jaune." Pyrrha said surely, stepping past him and turning, cocking a hip and nodding slightly at him with a knowing smile. "We have fights ahead of us, and plenty of them. Ozpin, Salem probably, and everyone else that tries to hurt people. The White Fang, maybe."

"That's a lot of fights." He sighed, looking at the Mistralian for a long, long moment. "And you're okay with that?" She made to answer and he continued, "Not just the fighting, Pyrrha. Everything else. Every _one_ else, Neo, Cinder, Roman…" He trailed off, and Pyrrha looked at him, eyebrow quirked in a question, "You have a family, in Mistral. Most of a team and a future in Beacon, especially as the Fall Maiden."

"Half of the Fall Maiden." Pyrrha corrected weakly, absentmindedly looking around to see if anyone had heard. "And I know, all of those paths are open to me. And more paths than you know, back in Mistral especially. But…" She sighed, "There are things about myself I don't understand now, Jaune. My powers are the least of it, Cinder can help with that, but… My mind..."

"You need Neo to understand it?" Jaune guessed, Pyrrha grimacing at the idea but nodding regardless. "I… Guess we don't really know much about Amber. I barely knew her, and the Amber I knew was broken by what had happened to her. What that could do to your mind…" Jaune growled, in frustration and anger, "Damn it, Glynda was right. Playing games with Aura was a stupid idea. Gods damn it, Ozpin."

"Jaune, it's fine."

"No, it clearly is not." Jaune snapped, turning to look at the mountains around them with a hand gripping the hilt of Crocea Mors tightly. "Ozpin should have known that your mind would be damaged by the merging. _I_ should have felt Amber's damage, warned him, but…"

He sighed, searching for something to hit, and Pyrrha grabbed onto his upper sword arm before he could storm off. "Jaune, you couldn't have understood what you felt from Amber, it's unreasonable to hope to have. Almost impossible." He gave her a look, and she released him nervously, "Regardless, what is done is done, now I have to deal with it. Amber had something… Dark inside her, along with other proclivities not my own. Where will I learn to understand any of it without Neo?"

"Neo is…" Jaune paused, eventually sighing with a grimace and continuing, "Not the kind of person who should be teaching you anything, Pyrrha. Don't… Don't get me wrong, I love her. I wouldn't change her if I could, but…"

"You accept her flaws, you don't exalt them." Pyrrha offered, the blonde nodding at the words. "I understand that, but… Some of Amber's proclivities, and they must be hers, and the trauma she held, they direct me to things. Things Neo understands, or she says she does at the very least." Pyrrha shrugged uncaringly, "I would be here regardless, though. Because my place is at your side."

"My side is a dangerous place to be, and… Strangely in high demand." Jaune observed, shaking his head sadly and making to step past her and head to the ship. He paused when Pyrrha made a face, half-fear and half-excitement, or something else he couldn't tell, and his fingers itched to remove his helmet. "Pyr?"

"Jaune, I… Want to do two things, and for once, I simply want to get my way. Alright?" He hesitated and nodded, and Pyrrha took a breath, and then she sank to a knee and pulled her weapon from her side, digging the blade into the soil. "My name is Pyrrha Nikos, of Mistral, trained as a Huntress and the Fall Maiden. By my weapon and the soil it is buried in, I do offer you myself in service and homage, to use as you see fit in battle and service alike, until I should die or you should release me." She waited a moment, voice finally cracking but never looking up from the ground, "D-Do you accept my vow?"

"I…" Jaune paused, the Mistralian kneeling in the dirt's shoulders stiffening anxiously, and looked up. Soldiers on the wall watched, some curiously leaning against it to see better and some with a sort of reverence for what was happening. Mistralians maybe? Impossible to tell this far out, but it was certainly possible. Looking back at Pyrrha, he swallowed and finally said, "I do."

"I… Then touch the crown of my head." She whispered, and Jaune did so. After a moment she rose, shaking the dirt from her sword and taking a shaky breath.

"What was that?" He asked her, the Mistralian's green eyes lighting up when she smiled.

"That was an oath, from me to you. So long as I wield this blade in battle, or walk the ground of this world, I am bound to your will." She smiled as though it were the best thing in the world, relaxing in a way he hadn't seen her do in a long time, and for once seemed… Happy. "It's a Mistralian tradition, when a warrior finds someone worth following, they swear an oath to them, on the steel they use and the earth beneath their feet."

"Oh…" Jaune blinked, rubbing the back of his neck with his right arm nervously. "That's… Important, very. Right?"

"Yes. It's… A way for me to be yours, to be frank. Neo will be your wife. Cinder, your slave, and our best fighter by far I wager." Pyrrha shrugged simply, Jaune giving the watchers on the wall a look until they turned around and went about their day. "And I am your sworn shield. It is not quite all I could want, but I am satisfied by it. It also allows me… Some perks, without facing dishonor or dishonoring your, or Neo."

"Perks?" Jaune asked, an eyebrow raised as he turned back. Pyrrha pressed against him, gently pushing his helmet up just enough to get at his mouth without exposing his Semblance and pressing her lips to his softly and wrapping her arms around his neck, and Jaune blinked in surprise before melting into the kiss. It only lasted a second before she pulled away, flushing lightly, and Jaune repeated, "Perks."

"Yes." She said simply, smiling more like the teenager she was than anything else, hands awkwardly twiddling and rubbing each other while Jaune adjusted his helmet. After a second she gestured at the ship with her hand, "Shall we, Theros?"

"Theros?" He asked as they started to walk, the Mistralian just behind and to his left. On his shield side, he noted, and that probably meant something.

"A Theros was, and is in a way, a commander of Lokhois, the greatest warrior units of Hunstman in Ancient Mistral. Even today, Hunstman and Huntresses working in tandem with or military are accorded the rank." She smirked, "It is always what a warrior calls their sworn person. A Theros. And you are my Theros."

Jaune hummed, a foot rising on the ramp into his ship, and paused, looking around. Something felt… Off, and he couldn't place it, even as his instincts guided his hand to his sword's hilt.

"Theros?" Pyrrha asked in concern, stepping forward onto the platform and looking around before her eyes returned to his. "What's wrong, Jaune?"

"I don't know." He answered honestly, sighing as he made his way up the ramp and into the ship. "Just a bad feeling is all, I guess. Probably nothing." They boarded, and a quick question to a droid sent them to where the others were, and Jaune didn't like it one bit. But something about the robots still irked him, still dug at his suspicions, and he couldn't make out why.

Why was everyone in the cafeteria, all at once?

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter watched them walk through the ship carefully, ordering extra drones away from them when she saw Jaune's body language. Tense, rigid, even Nikos had obviously noticed it, her shield on her arm and her sword in her hand, grip relaxed enough to appear casual to most. Not to Winter, of course, but to most. Winter didn't need to read minds to understand body language, but she knew they weren't entirely on guard.

Jaune would already know she was here if he honestly suspected something. All he'd need to do is use his Semblance, and she'd have to spring her droids into action to 'pacify the crew's infighting'. Now, all she needed was patience, for a little while longer. To let her plan do its job.

But the timing had to be perfect...

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cinder rose as soon as she saw Jaune and Pyrrha step through the door, smiling politely and happily at the same time. Roman tipped his hat and Neo even sat up in her seat, smiling brightly at him with that smile she reserved for him, eyes flashing brown and pink alternatingly as she blinked. "Master. How was your visit with your family?"

"It was nice." Jaune said honestly, looking at the three of them curiously for a second. "But, uh, why is everyone here? I expected to meet you on the bridge, but a droid said that you were all here, waiting on something."

"You mean…" Roman started, eyeing them all warily as he rose, Melodic Cudgel in his hand raising as he did, the criminal twirling the cane in his hand so the long shaft pointed towards the ceiling. "You didn't set up this little shindig? The robots said you had a surprise for us, Boss."

Then Jaune noticed the difference in the drones, one hand drawing Crocea Mors and the other reaching up to shove his helmet from his head. All the drones were armed, even though they didn't need to be, most were maintenance staffers and even serving food. But they had their rifles mag-clipped to their backs regardless.

Which meant that _someone_ had ordered them to be, and when Jaune felt his Aura flair as his Semblance flexed out, finally free of the confines of his helmet, he turned to the door, "Winter Schnee."

In a flash, Pyrrha slammed her palm onto the table and slid to Jaune's left side with her shield at the ready, using her Polarity to fling it to the side and crushing seven of the droids against the wall. Cinder spun, her fire spreading out on Jaune's right and swallowing another several drones, Neo and Roman at his back, the man's cannon blasting two more. And Jaune raised his shield, rounds peppering the dented metal as several more stepped in through the door.

Winter followed the droids in, rapier held out, "Jaune Arc, Roman Torchwick, Cinder Fall, Neopolitan. Atlas has warrants for all of you, and one will be made for you before we return to Vale." Jaune grimaced at her smirk. "Surrender. I don't want to hurt any of you. Aside from Roman, of course." " _Him I could do without…"_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Salem growled to herself, watching through the eyes of her Grimm and knowing that a fight was either ongoing in the Atlesian ship or soon would be, from the seat of her throne. Her chin rested in one palm and the other was splayed across her long table, fingers drumming idly on the surface as she peered at the tentacled Grimm. Watts watched anxiously from his new place at her right side, swallowing nervously, and she spared him a glance when he leaned forward with a clear intent to speak.

"Your Grace, the drones' combat programs are running, the alert just reached my Scroll. I can shut them down, however, if you wish it." He offered, laying the piece of technology on the table in front of him and offering it to her. She spared it a glance and he added, "I would mention, however, that it will take a few moments to reach them."

"Do nothing." She said simply, reaching out from the table with her hand and touching the Grimm, who leaned into the contact almost needily. "I will move Grimm nearby, the woman attacking him will not kill him." Hopefully, at least. "It isn't like Ozpin's little cohorts, even without him in the lead, to simply kill so brazenly."

"And when you save him, he will be indebted to you." Watts observed with a whiskered smile, nodding appreciatively. "And he will know that you have your many eyes peering at him, at all times. Truly, my Queen, brilliant. Splendidly brilliant."

"Of course." She murmured, more focused on commanding her Grimm before she grimaced and looked at Watts, "Leave me. To control my Grimm in such close proximity to a Human settlement like Ansel requires the most concentration I can muster. I can't do that with your prattling."

He nodded and rose, bowing politely and turning to leave with a strained expression. Salem didn't care for his wounded pride, of course. She needed to focus, to control. It wouldn't do for her Grimm to attack Jaune's people when she was meant to be his savior. Closing her eyes, she turned in her seat and laid her fingers on her other hand across the surface of the globe of the Grimm, eyes fluttering closed.

She needed focus.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"We aren't surrendering." Jaune said simply, shield locked against his side as more droids filed in behind Winter to form two firing lines, the front kneeling so the back could stand. Cinder moved to step towards them and Jaune held his shield out to stop her, shaking his head at the woman, "Winter, please. This isn't necessary. We're not a threat to Atlas, or any of the Kingdoms."

"General Ironwood disagrees." Winter said simply, shrugging and sliding into a fencer's stance that was familiar to Weiss', but with a more military feel. Shoulders stiffer, legs taught, and eyes watching them all closely. "The General has never once steered Atlas wrong, and if he says you are a threat to my homeland-"

"Winter, I may not like Atlas, but I am not a threat to it." Jaune snapped loudly, "The kinds of things I am fighting, and you think a _Kingdom_ is what I am worried about facing up against?" He chuckled, the woman's thoughts racing for answers, and Jaune continued, "The only thing I've thought about Atlas since I got here has been what kind of goods to carry to it."

"Goods?" " _A trader? Since when was Jaune a trader? Our information has nothing about this..."_ She looked between them settling on Roman for a moment, " _Roman… Smuggling, maybe?"_ Cinder reaching out and using the Maiden's power to quell the flames smoldering in a corner of the room before the smoke tripped an alarm. "What manner of goods could you possibly be carrying?"

"Roman?" Jaune asked simply, the man behind him clicking his tongue in thought.

"This haul?" He asked rhetorically, "Some impure Dust and rubies, not worth much except to some collectors in Vale that like the cracked look for some reason that never reached me. Food as well, for a few settlements along the way, and some other mundane crap." " _Not that she gives a rat's ass, of course."_

"Because the words of a criminal are meant to sway me?" Winter asked after a second, shaking her head. "A criminal and a traitor, that is."

"No, but I can say I tried." Jaune said honestly, rolling his shoulders and frowning sadly. "And that matters, to me. Sometimes, it's all I have."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	7. A Knight Out the Window

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings**

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 **Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, I and the channel are struggling financially. So please, if you can, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter moved in a moment, a flash of white and steel as she lashed out above them with her rapier, Dust hardening and sharpening into ice as it tore through the ceiling and the sprinklers therein. The pipes and sprinklers both burst, water pouring out across the floor and soaking the furniture, the floor and the people in the room. Pyrrha and Cinder, hair and clothes already starting to stick to their bodies, inched away on either side while Jaune held his ground and watched the Schnee carefully. The two women launched at her and Jaune followed behind, slower than either. Pyrrha and Cinder reached her at the same time, Cinder swinging up with a scimitar and Pyrrha lunging for the Schnee's throat with her sword while Jaune charged from behind.

Winter's rapier flicked at her right side, a black glyph spinning up underneath Cinder as the Atlesian Specialist turned to parry Pyrrha's lunged. Cinder staggered, grunting and sinking to a knee, trying to rise amid water drops that pelted her clothing hard enough to leave welts on the skin and rap loudly against the summoned weapon. Pyrrha spun, stabbing at Winter's midsection and then turning back with a slash, the Atlesian struggling to defend against the Mistralian Champion's attacks.

Leaping up, she half-flipped over the Huntress, a black glyph spinning into place where her feet met the ceiling, Pyrrha's surprise echoing through Jaune as she raised her shield to defend against against the stabs from above her, Jaune circling on Pyrrha's right and looking up at the Atlesian as she spun and stabbed, Cinder finally rising as her glyph vanished. He sensed Roman taking aim for a shot, and Winter stepped away and further from their reach, pointing her rapier at the two criminals in the back of the room and flicking her rapier in a small circle, touching it to the ceiling where she stood. Jaune spared a glance for the duo, a trio of armored Beowolves rising, pale white like Winter's own outfit, and Roman swore as he and Neo started fighting them.

"Now." Winter barked, the drones lined up against the wall by the door rising and moving forward, firing indiscriminately at the criminals fighting the summoned Grimm in the back and the two women trying to fight Winter. Cinder turned to deal with them, summoning a second scimitar to deal with them.

Without her fire thanks to the water, it was hard to deal with the armored drones, her weapons chipping away on their armor, and Cinder gave Jaune a look, " _I'm not at my best in the water, Master. You need to deal with Winter before she does something else."_

"Pyrrha." Jaune snarled, glaring at Winter as she dropped from the roof in front of the door, smiling confidently in spite of the way her clothes plastered to her skin and her messed up hair, stuck around her neck. "We have to deal with her."

Pyrrha nodded, eyes hardening as they lunged in towards Winter, the woman's rapier flicking away Jaune's slash and lunging in for Pyrrha at his side in the same fluid movement, stepping in and drawing a small knife from the pommel, lashing for Jaune's throat with it and then slamming to the side as Pyrrha raised her shield to deflect it. Smiling, Winter leapt away, rapier spinning as she landed.

A small black glyph spun to life on the shield, wrenching upwards and taking a surprised Pyrrha with it. Two of the drones fighting Cinder turned, firing up at the trapped woman, and Pyrrha growled as she released the shield and landed in a crouch behind Jaune, the rounds peppering the wall behind him as Jaune slammed forward into Winter's chest with a roar.

Only a moment later, when her left arm wrapped around his neck and held him against her chest and he sensed her confidence spike, did he realize his mistake. A white glyph spawned under them, yanking them back and through the door. She released him and he stumbled into the wall across the hall, unable to counter her moves as they came even as she thought of them.

She slammed a boot into him to propel him to the side, a door sliding open automatically as he was thrown towards it, black glyphs spawning under him and pulling him down and back, the gravity staggering him backwards faster than her could react until his back hit the window and his eyes widened, winter spinning in a roundhouse that cracked the window behind him and his ribs under the breastplate, the young man fighting to catch his breath.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called as she slid on the water pooling the floor around the corner, sword flowing into a spear at her side. With the crack of a gunshot, she hurled the spear at Winter's back, and the Atlesian spun, flicking her rapier down and up, the water below them spiking up and freezing, catching the spear and locking it in ice as Pyrrha charged.

Jaune tried to push off the glass and Winter slammed an elbow back and into his nose hard enough to break it even through his Aura, the blonde's head snapping back under the force as blood shot into the air.

Abandoning her weapon, Pyrrha charged Winter, spinning to lash out at Winter's head. The woman ducked under it, lunging up and wrapping her arms around the attacking leg and turning sharply and pushing at the other leg with her back, Pyrrha letting out a scream as the limb was wrenched up and away, the leg spasming and going limp at an unnatural angle as she fell back. Her back hit the ground, foot pointing to the right as Pyrrha rolled over and tried to force herself to her feet, crying out and collapsing.

Jaune lunged, the Atlesian easily batting aside the stab and stepping in to press her body against his shield before he could try and bash with it, the woman panting lightly, "You need to train more, Jaune, you've got talent and little else." She tapped the rapier against the glass, and Jaune felt the gravity shift and then pick up rapidly until the glass fell away and he was hurled from the window.

The two rolled as their backs hit the grass, Jaune groaning and trying to rise while Winter rolled and rose in one fluid motion, standing over him and pointing her rapier at his throat, "Planning, training, and drilling for alternative situations. This is how a force protects itself, and yet I see no sign of it. I must say, it's quite disappointing." " _Especially given how highly Ironwood spoke of your abilities…"_ "Surrender now, Jaune. Before more people get hurt."

Sensing presences around him, he smiled up at her, "You don't understand, Winter. You were doomed to lose the moment you stepped foot on my ship." She raised an eyebrow at him, suspicion spiking, and he gestured with his head to the side, "See for yourself."

She turned, blinking in surprise and taking a step back towards the hull of the ship as dozens of Beowolves, Ursai and Creeps emerged from the forest around them, close enough in the forest that Jaune could hear their breathing and smell their fur, and Winter swallowed nervously, "Grimm?" " _But how? And so many, so close to Ansel? Why aren't they attacking the settlement then?"_

"I told you that I wasn't after Atlas, that I had more to worry about." He answered simply, rolling over while she was distracted by the Grimm as they stepped closer slowly. When he rose, it was next to an Ursa that took a moment to sniff him, examining him closely. He grimaced at it, "I'm fine, Salem. Just some bruises." It huffed aggitatedly and he sighed morosely, "And my ribs re-cracked, yes. But I'm fine."

"What is this?" She asked warily, terror coursing through her as the Grimm seemed to - in her mind, at least, he could tell - form ranks around her to protect Jaune from her, entirely ignoring the Human in their midst. "What in the name of the Brothers… They're not attacking you?"

"Nope." He said, sensing Cinder approaching the window and turning to yell up, "Stay where you are, Cinder. I am fine, and you need to tend to Pyrrha." He sensed her aggravation when she shouted down an acquiescence, turning back to Winter. "Let me explain more fully. I have to deal with the kinds of things fables are made of. I have to fight them, including Salem, to protect people. Atlas is so far down the rung of what I care about, that I literally hadn't even considered it as a _threat_."

"Now," he continued before she could interrupt, "You came here to apprehend me. You attacked and hurt people I care about, damaged my ship, had my robots destroyed… And I bet it's because of James' orders. Isn't it?" She wanted to argue, the disrespectful way of addressing the man annoying her, but simply forced herself to nod. "Typical… And he didn't even tell you anything worth knowing. Like that the Queen of the Grimm existed, or the Maidens' true natures, or Ozpin's true nature. Or the war he had thrown you into, sending you after me."

"Or that Jaune was mine, or soon would be." An eerie voice chimed, Jaune's eyes closing as he sighed in agitation. A tentacled Grimm emerged from the packs around him, glass orb at its top glowing brightly as it approached them and hovered between them, "I am Salem, Queen of the Grimm, and he is under my protection."

"T-The Queen of the Grimm-" " _He wasn't lying then… This thing, I've never seen anything like it."_ Winter swallowed in fright, back pressing against the hull of the ship as she tried to get some distance between herself and the tentacled creature. Her eyes jerked to Jaune, " _And you… She is at your back? What on Remnant are you, Jaune?"_

"A Huntsman." He answered quietly, sighing at how little he himself believed that now. "Or, well… I'm trying to be, at least. I'm trying to be a good person, to do good things." He stepped forward, towards the small orb Grimm, forcing himself to lay a hand on the warm surface, "Now go back, and tell James that I am not a threat to him at all. That I just want to be left alone."

"And you believe I will simply let her leave after he transgression?" Salem asked, voice amused even through the Grimm.

"Yes." Jaune answered simply, shrugging, "Because you don't want to do anything that will drive me away from you. And killing a woman for trying to do what she thinks is right would definitely do that. No, please, disperse your Grimm away from Ansel before someone notices and a fight starts."

After a moment, the Queen sighed, the Grimm turning and plodding away from Ansel and into the forest, "Very well, Jaune. For you, I will spare the little wench." The orb got closer to Winter, pulling away from Jaune, and she added, "But if you _ever_ attack him again, I will do worse than kill you. I will take you, and I will torture you, violate you for the world to see, and then let my parasites ravage your broken body. Then while you watch, I will burn your precious Kingdom to the ground, and then drag your adorable sister to your side and do the same to her." Her voice lifted, almost cheerily, and Jaune himself swallowed nervously. "I am not a merciful person, Schnee. Don't expect any from me in future. Am I clear, Schnee?"

"Y-Yes, I understand." She answered, sinking to the ground and trembling as images pelted her mind. Images Jaune blocked out as best he could, "I-I swear, I w-won't… I won't do it again."

"Very well." The orb chimed, turning again to Jaune, "Jaune, I am going to keep this Grimmling on your ship so we may communicate." It wasn't an offer, but he nodded anyways, and she added with a happy and almost… excited sound to her voice, "I look forward to speaking with you later, Jaune."

He watched the creature climb up the ship, looking at Winter on the ground and turning to head back towards the ramp of his ship, "Now get out of here, Winter. We're done here, and I don't want to see you back unless you have something to offer me."

She nodded and rose, doing her best to at least _look_ well put together and calm as she hurried off into the forest. Jaune sighed and continued on his way, shaking his head and holding a hand to his side with a grimace.

That was going to sting later.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Short, I know, apologies but I am exhausted from all these large fight scenes. The next will be feature-length as normal, and this one is without charge from my Supporters.**


	8. A Knight and New Problems

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings**

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 **Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, I and the channel are struggling financially. So please, if you can, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Neo slid to a stop a few feet from him in the cargo bay as he embarked, panting heavily and looking at him in concern and fear and fright, wet clothing and hair stuck to her. Her pants were hiked up her shins slightly and plastered against her legs. Her jacket was bunched around her shoulders awkwardly, hands full with her parasol and rapier and unable to smooth out the clothes as much as she was unconcerned with it. " _Jaune, are you okay?"_

"I'm okay, Neo. Salem… Intervened, I guess, with Winter, and sent her away. I… Don't know if Winter will take her warning to heart, but we should be okay now." She slammed into his chest in a needy hug, arms wrapping around his chest and forehead pressing against his breasplate and he felt her relax, laying her arm around her shoulders to hold her. "I'm fine, Neo, just a little beat up, okay? Now, what happened after I went out the window?"

" _Roman and Cinder shut down the drones, they kept attacking us so they had to. Cinder took Pyrrha off to try and get her leg fixed up, and I ran off when they weren't paying attention. Cinder didn't want me to come looking for you, said you were busy or something. I dunno, didn't pay enough attention to her."_ Neo informed him, pulling away and leading the way further into the ship. " _Nikos got hurt pretty damn bad though, gotta hand it to her. She kept demanding we leave her and go help you."_

"Of course she did, she's as protective as you are. How bad is she now?" He asked worriedly, Neo noting it with a small barb of jealousy at the care in his tone. He sighed and added, "She's my friend, and… Well, everyone on this ship is a bit more than that. Even Roman is, thanks to you. I'd be just as worried about Cinder, or Roman."

" _I know, but I'm possessive. Can't help it, and yeah, I know it's kinda… Contradictory, I guess, what with everything else going on."_ She shrugged, the duo making their way through the ship past deactivated droids lying around, having fallen wherever they'd been when Cinder or Roman had pulled the plug on their programming. " _Roman said that he'll, you know… Try and get something to fix the drones for us."_

"But you're not sure what he said or meant, because you rushed off to find me." He teased, the girl pouting slightly, puffing out her cheeks and looking away with her arms crossed. He chuckled and, after a few minutes of quiet walking just enjoying each other's company, he added, "I would have rushed off too, you know, Neo. If you'd gone out a window with someone, probably hurt and definitely alone? I would have dove out the window after you, and not a damn thing you said to me would stop me."

" _I know."_ She said, smiling and flushing lightly before stepping closer to him and letting her left arm drop, touching at his fingertips as they walked through the halls towards the medical area. " _You're a good guy, it's why I… Why I went for this, you know?"_

"That's not why you were around me at first." He observed, the small woman nodding. She wasn't the kind to be ashamed of hat she'd done or why, and he knew that. "You threw yourself at me to protect Roman, even though he didn't want you to. Remember?"

" _I remember you blushing and stuttering a storm whenever I pressed my tits against your back or blew on your ear."_ She said, Jaune laughing at the image she sent to him, his arms stiff as boards at his side and face red enough to match Pyrrha's hair, and a sense of amusement at whatever Neo had done to fluster him so much. " _And you ended up on top of me anyways."_

"For different reasons." He argued honestly, shrugging nonchalantly at the assertion. It was obvious enough, even Neo saw it. "Now, there's… We have something there, you know? I didn't see a point in it without some reason to want to be with you like that. Just… Not that kind of guy, you know?"

" _I know."_ She said, the two stopping outside one of the medical rooms and giving each other a smile. She didn't need to explain that she knew, he understood it entirely, and he could tell she didn't feel it was needed. She trusted him implicitly in that way, and he felt his appreciation well up over the idea that anyone like Neo would ever trust him with such absoluteness…

He couldn't help but pull her in for a kiss, turning to press her against the wall and lifting her up so she could kiss back more comfortably. They broke apart after a few seconds of it, of course, they didn't have time for anything more and they stood together with her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms around his neck, her back aching from the wall's pressure and his ribs aching from how she pressed against his armored chest, the only support for her weight bein the wall and his hands under her armpits, tucked up behind her shoulders to play and pull gently at her hair. She tucked her forehead against his neck, smiling and breathing comfortably, and he enjoyed the contact regardless of their soreness, and the chill that them both being drenched brought on.

After a moment, Neo pecked at his neck hungrily and said, " _Either carry me to one of these rooms and get me out of these wet clothes, or let me down."_ He laughed and let her down, feeling the slight disappointment she felt at that, and gave her forehead a kiss before heading for the door to the medical room.

Inside, Pyrrha was lying on a bed with her leg at her side, limp and lying at an odd angle on the mattress while Cinder worked to line the joint up, both turning to look at him when he opened the door. Pyrrha propped herself up on her elbows, smiling in a relieved way. "Jaune." " _I was worried when you went out the window like that..."_ "I'm sorry I couldn't fend her off, Theros. I was not expecting the attack."

"No one was, Pyrrha. Don't blame yourself for what happened any more than you are willing to blame me. Understand?" He said, the Mistralian woman nodding at the semi-order and lying down on the bed. Looking at Cinder, he asked, "How bad is it?"

"Not bad, Master. Her leg is a bit dislocated, but I'm aligning the limbs so her Aura will heal the rest of the damages." Cinder explained, turning back to the limb and tucking a wet strand of hair over her shoulder, gently turning the leg the way it needed to face to heal properly and then using pillows to anchor the limb the way it needed to rest. "It will take some time, of course, I am no doctor and ours left some time ago." " _Much as I wished to stop her… But I would never go against your wishes, Master."_ "I have done similar before, on Emerald once or twice, and had it done on myself twice."

"And I-" Pyrrha cut herself off with a sharp breath, right hand raising and baling into a fist before slamming into the mattress when Cinder moved her leg again, pushing the joints together as gently as she could. Jaune grimaced in sympathy, feeling her pain echo into him so deeply his leg actually _ached_ and he had to take a seat in one of the two chairs in the otherwise empty room, aside from the bed of course. When she spoke again, her voice sounded strained, her chest heaving as she forced her breathing to stay steady. "And I have had this done before, in tournaments, as well. Actual doctors can have you up and moving after an injury like this in a few hours. No offence, Cinder."

"None taken." She murmured, concentrating on the leg she was working on. "I am no true doctor after all, Pyrrha. What you say is true. Now try and sit still as you can, alright? The itching should set in soon."

"Already has." Pyrrha grumbled, resting her left forearm on her forehead and groaning, "It itches horribly… My skin feels like it's crawling with bugs."

"I know." Jaune observed, Pyrrha looking at him and sighing in sympathy.

"I'm sorry." She said weakly, Jaune laughing at that. She raised an eyebrow at him for it, genuinely sounding confused at the prospect. "What?" " _I was trying to be polite…"_ "Cinder could fetch your helmet, if you wanted?"

"No." He said, suddenly serious before he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, "We never considered that Atlas might come after us. I didn't think they'd feel I was a threat, really, I knew James and he knew I wasn't against Atlas. At least I think he did. So why send Winter after me?"

"He has to consider you a threat of soe kind, probably not a hostile one. Or he's… Not sure if you are, at least. In all likelihood, he probably tried to take you specifically to decide if you were a threat to him and his precious Kingdom." Cinder sneered lightly, turning to rest at the bottom of the bed, careful to avoid jostling. She gave a sheepish look when Jaune raised an eyebrow at her, and she explained, "Sorry, Master."

"So Atlas is after me." He groaned, head rolling back against the wall behind his chair as Neo slid into his lap comfortably and curled against his chest, head on his shoulder and eyes sliding closed. He rested a hand on her hip to hold her there a bit, "Perfect, Just perfect. Now what do we do? All of my plans have been based around _not_ being hunted by the Dust damn Kingdoms themselves."

They all fell silent for several minutes before Pyrrha finally spoke, "I… Have a suggestion, but it is not one you will like, Theros." " _Not at all…"_ He looked at her, and she smiled apologetically at him, "You need Ozpin to get Atlas to back down, he's the only one who can control Ironwood from everything I've experienced of them."

"Great." Jaune grunted, sighing, "And how do we find him?"

"I know a man who we could see about that, Master." Cinder started, "But we need to get to Mistral first to find him. He can get us in touch with everyone else we need to speak with after that." " _Whether he wants to or not."_

Jaune didn't like the sound of that at all…

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Oscar smiled, looking around at Vale's landing port as Bullheads came and went, carrying all manner of cargo from people to Dust and metals. Around him, soldiers and droids bustled around warily, and civilians worked on loading and unloading the vessels. "This place is amazing… I've never seen so many buildings like this."

" _Wait until you meet James and get to ride on one of his ships. You'll see far more from up there, I assure you."_ Ozpin chuckled in his head, " _He does enjoy taking people on his ships, when he can. Something about 'showing off Atlas' might', or so he says at the least."_

"And he's-" He stopped when someone came near, etting some distance before continuing , "He'll help us? Er, me? Gods, this is confusing."

" _Yes. Once I get word to him, regardless of where he is now, he will send someone after me.'_ Ozpin explained, urging Oscar to turn towards a direction he knew would lead to Beacon. " _Head that way, I'll guide you to Beacon. Glynda will get us in touch with him and we can find out what needs to be done."_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It took only an hour to return to the Atlesian base near Ansel. Dirty, wet and miserable as she was, the Grimm completely ignored her, sometimes huffing in annoyance and watching her make her way through the forest. When she stepped into the base, she gave the soldiers there the same treatment, ignoring them and making her way to the communications office and commandeering it to make a report.

"Sir, I don't think he's a threat to us." She said when he asked her opinion, jaw hard on the other end of the viewing screen. He gave her appearance a once over, her clothes muddy and stuck to her skin, and she flushed when she realized how much of her chest was visible through the shirt. "Or, he wasn't, Sir. He may be opposed to us now that we have attacked him-"

"We attacked a perceived threat." Ironwood corrected chidingly with an edge to his voice, Winter stiffening at the mild rebuke.

"Of course, sir." She responded simply, nodding her head lightly at the general. "All I meant was that the perceived threat wasn't one, and that there may be one now, unfortunately. Assuming he holds what has happened here against you, of course. Or against Atlas, that is, at the very least."

"Then perhaps a force needs to be mobilised against the threat." James said simply, Winter grimacing at the prospect. "What is it, Winter?"

"Sir, he… Grimm aided him, I had him pinned outside and… Someone claiming herself as Queen of the Grimm as a whole was there. The Grimm surrounded him and forced me to leave." She explained, James straightening on the other end of the call, his back and shoulders going rigid at the words.

"All the more reason to mobilize a response." He said simply, "I will be there in a few days with my flagship, Winter. Hold your position and report if he attempts to depart. Should he do so, you have orders to use the base's resources to intervene." He leaned towards the screen, looking Winter in the eye seriously, "He is not to leave. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sir." She saluted, and he ended the call. Something felt off about all this to her… But what?

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Okay, I know that I said these should be feature length moving forwards, but… Shit keeps popping up so I'll just do my best to make good stories. Sorry, guys just too busy to do more than write short spurts right now.**

 **However, some good news, in the coming weeks content about an original series of mine will begin being released for Supporters and later on YT as well abou it. I hope you all look forward to it, just Sub on my YT channel for the details.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Big Bad Beowolf :**_

 **Glad you found it, bud! I was concerned when you mentioned being excited for the next story and I couldn't PM you to tell you it was out.**

 _ **Prxmer :**_

 **Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. I'll keep them coming as well as I can. Hope yo continue enjoying what I can produce.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **You have no idea~!**

 _ **Merlin of Tarre :**_

 **I apologize, but…. I have to disagree with you. I use my characters as well as I can, wherever possible. She showcased incredible tactics and theoretical techniques of her Semblance to get a win against several opponents.**

 **Further, she will have a bit more involvement in the story going forward. This is to put an idea in her head, nothing else, and establish for the group that they have more direct threats than they know.**

 **Salem also has you missing something critical : She needs Jaune because it can take thousands of years for another like Jaune to happen by. She can't** _ **afford**_ **to risk his life like that. Losing him would cost her an exorbitant amount of time.**

 **So, and again I apologize, but I have to disagree.**

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 **Yeah. He's not overpowered, and sure in a duel in open ground he can stand his own, but… I mean, come on, it's one of probably Atlas' best military people in combat against him, and in a surprise scenario. He can't possibly win that fight on his own without** _ **something**_ **intervening.**


	9. A Knight With Few Options

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **SleeplessShippings**

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 **Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, The channel and I are struggling financially. So please, if you're able, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune hadn't made it three steps towards Ansel before Alex had met him, a dozen armed men ready for a fight on his tail with shields and spears and light armor. They'd asked what had happened, that he'd seemed to be under attack and they'd come to help, and Jaune had explained away as much as he could. Then they'd said his father needed to see him, to talk about what had happened, whatever it was. And he'd been escorted under guard through Ansel, the soldiers protectively huddling around him as they went until he was escorted in the Arc Manor and into the main hall, a fire crackling in the hearth warmly. After the soldiers had been dismissed, he'd explained everything, which brought him to the present problem.

An enraged and protective Arc Patriarch.

"We're fine, dad, no one got seriously hurt even! You don't need to make a bigger problem out of this than it needs to-"

"A bigger problem?" His dad demanded, face red and eyes hard, rounding on his smaller, helmed sone angrily. "A bigger Dust damn problem? Atlas just attacked _my_ son, in _my_ settlement, without any good Dust damn reason for it!" He turned and leaned against the back of one of the couches in the main hall of the Arc home, "And no one got hurt? How about that Nikos girl, you said her leg was dislocated."

"I-It was, Winter goth er in a… A hold and did it, but she'll be fine in a couple of days." His father gave him a look, eyebrows raised and jaw working as though to point out that was enough and Jaune grimaced behind his helmet. "Okay, yes, I'm pissed just like you. But what happens when we call Vale and tell them about this? We don't give them anything special, James does-"

"Why do you keep referring to the Gods damned General of the Atlesian Navy, who is a _Councilman_ in Atlas by the damn way, by his first name like you're friends? He just tried to have you killed." His father sighed, turning and leaning against the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. He took a moment to look his son over, standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his armored breastplate, the dents and tears standing out even now. "And don't pretend that you aren't as pissed and worried as I am. Or did you come armed and armored for fun?"

Jaune tensed, breathed, and forced himself to relax, "Being cautious isn't the same as being afraid. Or angry." He defended, rapping a knuckle against his breastplate, "Just because I'm not a threat to someone doesn't mean they won't think I am, that's what this has taught me. I didn't consider Atlas a threat, or James, and thought that meant they didn't think I was. But that's wrong." He sighed, shaking his head, "Winter will report back, but whether James listens or not is different."

"And if he doesn't?" His father asked, "What if General Ironwood decides to send his fleet here?"

"You think he'd risk angering Vale by attacking one of its villages?" Jaune asked, the older man laughing at the question. "What?"

"You honestly think Vale would risk a war by saying no?" Jaune's head tilted curiously at the question, and his father explained, "It's simple son. A small mining settlement that barely puts out anything Vale needs or has a claim on, or the support and friendship of the head of the Atlesian military and the man that holds _two_ seats on the Atlesian Council. Which of these is more valuable?"

"But there's people here who would get hurt if-"

"Yeah, I know damn well. Half of 'em are from Atlas, half or so from Vale, because of where we are." He gestured around him with a sweep of his arm, "Half of the people that built this settlement are some kind of petty criminal as well, and you know he can use that. 'Atlas rounding up fugitives in a frontier settlement.' Hell, with the fact we ship out some Dust on occasion, the damn Schnees will love him for his shutting us down."

"That's… Horrible." And it was. The idea of throwing away human lives and people's livelihoods like this, because of the Atlesian's paranoia? It was almost enough to make him gag. "So… What will calling Vale do then?"

"I can appeal to them, maybe… I don't know, offer one of the Councilmen rights to our mine, or something. Maybe… Maybe let Vale integrate us, like they've been wanting to for years." Jaune grimaced at that idea. Integrating meant that the community would be searched for criminals, and anyone with a 'bad enough' record would be dragged away. The mine and farming community would also be subjected to hefty taxes and controls, the former thanks to the Schnee monopolization. "It isn't ideal, but it's better than trying to take on a damn Kingdom all by ourselves."

"I'm not letting you destroy Ansel over me." Jaune said quietly, the older man grimacing at the idea for a moment as well. "We need a better idea. I assumed Atlas wouldn't come after me once, and I won't do it again. I have to leave Ansel to protect it."

"And you think that the Atlesian base down the way won't report you? Think, Jaune, they knew you were here. And that woman had to come from somewhere, so where did she come from?" He asked simply, Jaune not answering. They both knew where she'd come from, where she could only have possibly come from, so Jaune didn't need to answer really. "Exactly. You try to leave, best case scenario, they report you and you'll have tails within a few hours."

"Worst case?" He asked, Jacques' grimace as much of an answer as he needed. Worst case, they had interceptors and soldiers, ready to bring him down if they needed to in order to put a stop to whatever the hell they thought he was up to. Jaune growled, "Then what can I do about this?"

"I don't know, Jaune." His father answered as several guards came up the hall. He gave them a look and then his son, "I'll do some thinking, maybe make some calls. For now, relax, don't do anything stupid, and stay put. Alright?"

Jaune nodded and understood the underlying suggestion and turned to leave with a nod to his father and the soldiers coming to meet with him. For now, Jaune had to go, his father had to see about matters of the settlement. Once he'd left, he started making his way back to his ship, such as it was. It felt more like a prison now, iron and steel containing him and trapping him here.

He needed to get to Ozpin and have him call off James, but to do that he needed to be able to _leave_ Ansel. Everything he could possibly want to do required that much at least, but it was a self-defeating circle. To get to Ozpin, he needed to leave. To leave, he needed Atlas off his back. To get Atlas off his back, he needed to get to Ozpin. The circuit would stay a problem until he found a way to break it, and that needed a variable he hadn't added to the equation yet…

Salem. He needed to ask Salem for help, she was the only thing he could really add to the equation to shift things into his favor.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter watched transports landed, loaded down with soldiers and new and state of the art anti-air weapons. Around her, construction drones and soldiers moved supplies outside the old, less-than perfectly sound wall, building a stark white replacement twenty feet away from the old wall while the buildings underwent additions and modifications, fortifying them and expanding their ability to command forces throughout the region. They were, effectively, turning the small fort into an Atlesian command hub buzzing with ships, with landing pads on the roofs of the buildings and fortified buildings everywhere.

Supposedly, this was being done as part of a large-scale and wide reaching project to revitalize, expand and improve Atlesian defences in the other continents following the Battle of Mountain Glenn. Officers and politicians in Atlas, and friendly politicians in Vale and Vacuo particularly, had supported it and cited the reason for the losses at Mountain Glenn as being a lack of Atlesian support in the area. What kind of support that had been supposedly lacking was typically left unsaid, and usually the ignorant chalked it up to a lack of forces that could be deployed.

As if Atlas couldn't have sailed an armada a hundred ships strong to Mountain Glenn had it wanted to.

"Ma'am." Winter turned to a sergeant, taking a small clipboard from him with a list of supplies and personnel being shifted to help with the projects, skimming the transfer requests for a moment before signing off on it and handing it back. The soldier snapped a crisp salute and turned, tossing a 'Thank you' over his shoulder as he did.

Winter knew better than to accept that this was part of a 'revitalization' project. Oh there was one ongoing, that was true, but Ansel's little fort had been literally ten pages down on the priority list for it. The location was important, sure,but compared to neighboring settlements with more Dust produced, more food, and even just more people? Ansel was barely a blip compared to Citrigardiene, a few miles west of here on the coast as close to the Atlesian continent as feasible. They produced enough farmed goods to feed a third of Atlas' fleet, and beyond that, were almost an Atlesian colony in all but name.

So why was it suddenly on the first page of every document she was seeing, and why were supplies and manpower already here? It made no sense, not unless… Jaune. This had to be about Jaune.

Winter sighed, watching the soldiers and moving through the old part of the base as they worked, hands folded behind her back and mind racing as she oversaw the work. What was Ironwood so scared of?

Beyond the obvious, she didn't know. Yes, Jaune could truly be a grave threat to any organized group or nation that he chose to stand against. Just being in proximity to someone important could get him information, from basic routines to access points, all of which had… Terrifying implications. Assassination, theft, espionage, Winter had been telling the truth when she'd told him how dangerous and useful he could be to Atlas and Vale's military prospects in a variety of ways.

Largely unsaid, of course, was that everything they could have him do _for_ them he could just as easily do _to_ them.

And then came the nature of his allies. Roman Torchwick was a known variable, conniving, selfish, a touch cowardly and a massive amount of self-centeredness. The man's small and mute partner, though, was very much unknown. Aside from her first name, Neopolitan, and that she seemed to be amute, nothing was truly known about her. She was a rumored sadist, a known killer, and selfish but the last two items were no different from Roman himself.

Yet by many reports, Jaune was sleeping with her, and by a few rumors from soldiers coming and going to Ansel, the Arc scion was _engaged_ to a small, quiet woman. That had to be Neopolitan. So why would Jaune get with a sadistic, probably sociopathic killer like Neopolitan instead of trying to get with, say, Pyrrha Nikos?

Then there was that woman, their scattered reports and interrogation files from captured White Fang operatives named her as Cinder Fall. She was even less of a known factor than Neo, all anyone knew was that she showed up one day, convinced a high ranking White Fang leader to work with her, and then betrayed him later… For Jaune.

And all for a… A Grimm Queen, and a story Jaune had referenced. 'The Tale of the Maidens.' She looked at the barracks, thinking for a moment before motioning one of the lieutenants over.

The mousy woman saluted and Winter returned it, before the woman spoke, "Ma'am, do you need something?"

"I need you to take over command of the revitalization efforts." Winter explained quickly, the woman nodding after a moment's confused hesitation. "I need to examine some files and mission reports for an upcoming analysis on our tactics against the White Fang. To determine their effectiveness. I need time to peruse the files and make sure my work is useful." The woman nodded again, and WInter finished, "Is that going to be any problem?"

"No, Specialist Schnee." She answered crisply, "I will gladly oversee the efforts here while you conduct your mission. Fort Atlas," the soldier saluted, and Winter returned it, the woman adding, "Let me know if you require any assistance, I'm sure we can spare manpower to help you, Ma'am."

"No need." Winter smiled politely, the way her father and mother had taught her over the years. Diplomacy was the art of lying while telling the truth to get what you wanted, that's what she'd been drilled. "I have everything I need. I just require the time to work on it, and wish to use it as well as I may to do only the very best to further Atlas' goals and common good."

"Of course, Ma'am." The soldier turned and moved to take command, issuing a few orders more to establish herself as the new officer on call than any real need.

In the barracks, she found an isolated room on the bottom floor that she appropriated, using two drones to secure the door. Inside, she flicked open her Scroll and brought up a random search engine. A quick search found her an online format of the Tale of the Maidens and she tabbed it, using another to search up legends on a ruler of some kind of teh Grimm.

A good soldier was a learned one, that was what General Ironwood always told her. So she'd find out what, exactly, he'd involved her in by sending her against Jaune Arc.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jaune, Roman and Cinder stood outside of a room near Jaune's, the door closed while they stood and thought. Eventually, Roman spoke and broke the silence, "So. I am just going to say that I do not enjoy our new, tentacled guest. Is anyone else in agreement with me?" " _Assuming that THAT isn't you or the brat's fetish, of course…"_ Jaune gave the man a glance and he held up his hands in mock surrender, "Hey, don't tell me you haven't imagined Neo wrapped up in those-"

"No, I haven't." Jaune growled at the man, hand resting on the pommel of Crocea Mors. "Salem would love it, I'm sure, but I wouldn't trust her." He relaxed slightly, turning from Roman back to the door, "And, uh, no. That isn't my, um, my fetish."

"Shame." Roman said with a smirk, "It's hers." " _Judging from her Scroll history, at least…"_

"Roman, keep your trash talk away from Lady Neo, please." Cinder growled protectively from his other side, Jaune grateful for the intervention and for the first time since he'd done it grateful to have made her his servant. "As for Salem's communication Grimm, I… Must admit, I do not mind it much. I spent a lot of time around them, using them to communicate with Salem." " _Familiarity breeds contempt but kind that has a sort of comfort as well, after all."_

"Still, even with all Neo's weird ass kinks-" Roman waved his hands when Jaune shot him a dirty look again, "Let me finish, Boss. Even with her kinks, I don't like that thing. It's… Well, creepy as hell, frankly. I don't like it. It's like… I hate jellyfish, and that's basically a _bigger_ jellyfish, with spikes." Jaune raised an eyebrow at him, looking at him like the stupidest person in the room, and gestured to the door with both his hands, palms flat and vertical like spades, " _Spikes_ , Jaune."

"Yes, and she uses them to hurt people quite a lot of the time." Cinder snarked at him, cocking her left hip and turning to look over Jaune's head at Roman. "And she can probably hear you talking bad about her." " _Those things always were very sensitive for that sort of sound…"_ "And I quite doubt she enjoys it."

"Can she?" Roman asked Jaune nervously, scratching at his chin nervously and looking between the young blonde and the armored door. "Cuz, uh, I might have things to do if that's actually the case." " _Things that don't involve spiky jellyfish that are angry with me…"_ "Boss?"

"Can't tell, the Grimm aren't that… Coherent for me, you know? They don't think like we do, I-I don't get…" He raised his hands, trying to form a shape with tem to demonstrate and giving up after a second. "Okay, normally it's like a path I can follow, it's natural because it's how we think. With Grimm… I get a presence, and some basic intentions, and _sometimes_ I get a thought if Salem is paying particular attention for some reason."

"I get it." Roman said quickly, surprising the two more than a little. It must have shown on their faces, because the man seemed almost offended and frowned, "What? It makes sense. They're a lot like animals, and animals don't think like people do. Probably, anyways." " _I mean, they're dumb animals, they don't think or anything… So they have to be different."_ "Right?"

"I sense animal presences, kind of like the Grimm, sometimes." Jaune admitted, actually thinking for a few moments about it. He'd never truly thought about it, not too much, but it was an apt and interesting comparison. Maybe Grimm _were_ animals at some point, far back in the past? "It doesn't matter right now. We have to deal with Atlas and that… Problem, before we can even think about what Grimm are made off."

"So, uh, do you need _me_ in there too, or..." Jaune gave Roman a look, rolling his eyes, and the man gestured over his shoulder with a thumb pointing back down the hall. "Because, you know… Things to do, and plan, and…" " _Spiky Grimm tentacles to avoid, demon Queens not to meet…"_ "You know, normal… Stuff."

"It's fine." He assured Cinder when she moved to berate him, sighing and smiling sadly at the criminal. "Go ahead, Roman, I won't force you to be in the same room as something you're that scared of."

"You didn't need to be so kind to him." " _He should have been made to stay by your side."_ "If he balks from you over one tiny Grimm…" Cinder at least had the good sense and patience to wait until Roman was gone to bring up her concerns, but Jaune still sighed. His aggravation must have showed on his face when he turned around, because Cinder immediately balked and collapsed in on herself meekly, "I-I don't mean to offend, Master, I only meant that… That he should be loyal enough to be by your side even when he's f-frightened."

"Don't… Don't be scared of me, Cinder, not because you gave your opinion." Jaune chided gently, forcing himself to smile at her comfortingly. She relaxed, her relief flowing out of her in steady streams, and he continued. "Roman is loyal to me through Neo, not to me directly. I trust him because of that, but I won't push him either for the same reason. Push a person who is _voluntarily_ helping you too far…"

"And they won't wish to help you." Cinder finished, nodding understandingly. "You're right, Master. It makes sense, I just…" " _Lack your ability to understand motivations."_ "I am not as adept as you at understanding what others desire and why they act."

"What do you usually assume?" He asked curiously, the woman shrugging.

"First, self-interest above everything. Then… Things. Money, wealth, fame, pleasure. If you feed people these things, they'll usually follow you." " _Except the sanctimonious ones..."_ Cinder licked her lips nervously, "That was… Why we gave you those maids, at Salem's castle. Women, wealth, money if you asked for it, and pleasure if you sought it."

"You didn't know me." Jaune said simply.

"No." She admitted, the statement free from the bias inherent with most of her opinions towards him, free of the usual inflection what he'd done to her had forced her to have whenever he asked her questions. "We all underestimated you, Master. Massively. Any normal man could, and possibly would, have given in to any or all of the vices we'd tested you with." " _And there's no way we could have guessed how abnormal you really are…"_

"I'm taking that as a compliment, Cinder." He said, the woman chuckling as he pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

The room itself was dark, the bed ripped up and pinned against the wall by a desk and a small table, the frame of the bed shoved into a corner. The pillows, sheets and even some towels were piled on the floor, too many to be just from this room so the… Creature must have stolen them from other vacant rooms, or even non vacant ones, he doubted Salem or the Grimm cared in any way if they were lacking sheets. The creature had used them to make a sort of nest, and curled up on it there on the floor comfortably in the dim lighting.

Jaune looked up at the light fixtures, most turned off, and sighed, "Did you… Break some of my light fixtures?"

"Hm, yours? Funny, I thought this ship was originally Watts', not yours. How quickly you have laid claim to what was not yours." Her voice was eerie, amused and annoyed all at once, and when she chuckled it sounded like a threat and rolled across the room as Cinder stepped forward. "Ah, and you bring your pet as well? Why? I am no threat to you in person, much less in this form."

"I hope you'll understand that I don't quite believe that. She can handle this Grimm, I don't know that I can. So I brought her along, just in case." The orb said nothing, and Jaune continued, "I… Need some advice. That's why I'm here."

"Clever of you, Jaune… Advice, or help? Because you say the former, and I think you truly want the latter instead." Salem asked, that same amusement echoing out at every word. Then, her tone fell, and she continued. "No, Jaune, you don't need my advice. You need my help. No doubt by now you have reached the same conclusions I have as well. If that idiot Ironwood is after you, only one person can get him to back down. Ozpin."

"And we can't get to him." Jaune agreed, nodding politely at her and grimacing. "We can't leave to get to him without Atlas stopping us though, and anything we do to _them_ will come down on Ansel and my family."

"And we can't have that…" Salem cooed mockingly.

"No, Master's family must be protected." Cinder snapped protectively, Jaune grimacing at the conflict he felt from her subconscious. Like a war was being fought, a one-sided one at that, between what he'd done and her previous reverence and fear for Salem. The orb shifted slightly to look at her, and Cinder flinched slightly but stayed where she was at his side. "Master loves his family and they must be protected, no matter what it takes."

"So obedient, Jaune, I am impressed. To have whipped her into shape so well…" Salem chuckled when Jaune gave her ord a hard look, "Fine, fine. I will leave it be, for the moment if nothing else. Now, for Ozpin, I can't help you find him. I have never been able to find him when he resurrects. If I had been, I wouldn't have had to fight this petty war with him looking for someone like you."

"Then can you… Stage a distraction?" Jaune asked, raising an eyebrow. After she didn't answer for a while and he got the vague sense she wanted _something_ out of him, he continued, "The fort down the valley is the problem. If you can distract them, then we can get away and try and find Ozpin or… Maybe go to Beacon, talk to Glynda, she can leverage him at least half as well as Ozpin could."

"How do you know that, Jaune?" Salem asked curiously.

"I sensed it. Odd feelings I didn't fully get at the time, but… I get them now, know what they were. Those two are close, she can convince him to calm down." Jaune explained, "I-I don't know how close, but they're… They're close. And instead of looking for Ozpin, with a fleet on our tail-"

"I can keep any fleet well away from you, if you want." She offered, Jaune grimacing at the prospect. "You've very few options, Jaune, and no one would fault you for defending yourself. And they're soldiers, besides they enlisted to kill my minions and 'protect' people from them. Don't feel guilty for what they force you to."

"We aren't attacking innocent people." He asserted simply, shaking his head. "I have enough blood on my hands thanks to you, I don't want any more."

"You're tying my hands, Jaune." She growled in frustration, "I can't use my Grimm to help you and guarantee no one will end up hurt or dead for it. And I _will not_ let them take you from me. Make your peace with that if you can, for you must. Your life hangs in the balance, and countless more, for if you are lost I will not spend another millenium waiting patiently. I will wage my war more fully."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Yes." Salem answered frankly, "I am. I am sorry, Jaune, but you don't understand what it has been like. I won't risk a return to it, another thousand years of loneliness and boredom." After a few moments of tense silence, she continued, "I will attack the fort with a force I know they can beat back. Use that chance to get away, Nevermore will screen your flight. I will swear to examine them first, I will even attack their strongest point and use naught but weaker Grimm for it."

"I…. Fine, that's as good as I can hope for, I guess." Jaune grimaced and sighed, shaking his head in a vain attempt to get rid of the vaguely dirty feeling the whole situation gave him. He hesitated for a long second and added, "Thank you."

"I am trying, Jaune. To bend my nature to satisfy yours, but you need to do the same." She responded quietly and sincerely, "This has to be a two way street. I want you to choose my offer freely, but if I become a tool for you to use and play with, I will take what I want without your consent."

"No one on this ship will allow that." Cinder argued quietly.

Salem laughed brightly for a few seconds, sighing as she reigned it in, "No one on this ship will have even a pale, pale reflection of a choice in the matter. Jaune, you need to begin your own preparations to leave, make sure you are ready and let me know. I will begin moving my Grimm into place and scouting out the fort."

He nodded and they turned to leave, the door closing behind them almost seeming to warm them.

"I changed my mind, Master." Cinder started quietly as they made their way down the hall, "I don't like those things at all."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **As a note, for my Supporters, concept art, scripts and more will begin starting to appear for Supporters on p-a-t. R-e.-on in the coming weeks. Some pictures are already out.**

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Merlin of Tarre :**_

 **What can I say? James has zero chill. And more mind-slaves? How many? To answer you though, they will pop up when they enter Jaune's story. Might be soon, might be not, you lot shall see~**

 _ **CJ Hoax :**_

 **Debating the smut for my Smut!Fic, or maybe adding it into this at some point, but dunno…**

 _ **Zenith Tempest :**_

 **I hope I addressed a number of your concerns in this chapter.**

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 **James has no chill, considering where he comes from, it's kind of** _ **Iron**_ **ic. No?**


	10. A Knight Best Dressed

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 **Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, The channel and I are struggling financially. So please, if you're able, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"How in the world did you get your ribs _rebroken_? Again?" " _Like you're trying to kill yourself. Gods, these Huntsman, suicidal to the last man and woman."_ "Your father already told me you'd done it once, didn't think you'd bloody do it again! I guess you must have enjoyed yourself."

He rolled his eyes at the town's doctor, a young man named Phil who stayed in Ansel and moved between the small mining settlement and the Atlesian fortification. The young man was barely over twenty two, with dark brown eyes and hair and tanned skin, with a smiling and youthful face that bore no scars or blemishes, which made him a hit among the women in both places he visited. He wore a simple brown apron made of leather over denim jeans and a flannel shirt, worn throughout and patched in a few spots, hallmarks of living a rougher life on the frontier than one in the city might expect.

"Training?" Jaune tried weakly, the young doctor giving him an unamused look at the obvious lie. "Okay, fine. We got attacked, I'm sure you heard about it from the guardsmen." The doctor simply nodded and let Jaune talk while he wrapped up his chest, "Well, they were good at fighting and everyone is already hurt, mostly."

"Then you shouldn't be _fighting_ anything. You should have run." " _Typical cocky Huntsman…"_ The doctor argued, grimacing and pressing a hand to the blonde's bandaged chest, the young knight grimacing at the man's thoughts and the feeling of his bruised side being touched. "Should heal up right as rain in a week, if you _don't_ break them again. Keep it up though and they'll stay broken." " _Aura will make sure of that… The Gods' punishment for the foolish."_

"I'll be more careful, Doctor. Promise." Jaune assured him, reaching for his new hoodie lying on the table next to him. It was a simple thing, black like his old one and lacking the design in the center, and he slipped it on carefully and looked around the small room while the doctor cleaned up from tending to him. A single small table dominated the center of the room, a door past in front of it where his feet would rest if he were on his back, and dark wooden furniture with tools surrounded him. After a moment, Jaune had a thought, "You know, my ship is going to be leaving soon and could use a-"

"Not interested, Jaune. At all." " _Here we go…"_ The doctor cut across him sourly, his back to Jaune while he packed up the wrapping bandages and tape he'd used to treat his wounds. "I am not the type to fly around, stitching up idiots who think hitting a giant wolf with a _sword_ is a good plan. And I am frankly not trained well enough in more advanced treatment methods or needs, like surgery on a bullet wound for example, to feel confident in treating you or anyone else. Sorry." " _Just once, I'd love these people to not try recruiting me…"_

"It, uh, I figured it was worth asking." Jaune shrugged, grimacing when it pulled at his bandages but nodding understandingly regardless. "Sorry if it bothered you, but I had to ask. I have people depending on me, you know?"

"You have more wounded?" He asked, looking over his shoulder. Jaune nodded and the man frowned, irritation rolling off of him. "Well, the hell aren't they here for?" " _Bloody Huntsman…"_ "What are the injuries, then? Cuz I'm assuming you idiots thought that his Aura would heal it right up."

"Hers, actually." The man turned, clicking his case of bandages closed with an angry glint in his eyes, and Jaune chuckled to himself quietly and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "The, uh, the injury is a dislocated and pulled leg, at the hip. A friend of mine on the ship lined it up and made sure it wouldn't shift around. She, uh, she's kind of… Done it before, you know... And I only stopped in at my father's insistence, he… Wouldn't discuss business with me until I got seen by a doctor."

"Joy." " _Nothing better than a self-taught Huntsman remedy to get yourself crippled."_ "Well, I'll send your bill to your father as per his instructions, then. At least I'll get a decent pay day out of you." The man turned, holding out a small yellow bottle in his gloved hand. "You will need to take these for the duration of your recovery, they will reduce the swelling and prevent you from being in too much pain." " _Even if it would teach you a damn lesson."_ "Two a day, one in the morning and one at night."

"Do I have to-" Jaune's mouth clamped shut when the man glared at him, pocketing the bottle and stepping towards the door. "O-Okay, then, thank you for the help." He pushed out the door and stepped into the warm sunlight before the other man could more than grunt, sighing lightly and looking around.

He'd gone without either his armor or helmet, something that had bothered Cinder even more when he said he'd be going on his own, because he'd wanted to stay used to feeling everything around him. The echo of emotions and thoughts cascading around him like a heavy rain, slamming into him hard enough to sting and falling around him loudly.

One woman fussing over her blouse while she followed a friend she wanted more from around.

Another man, angry and drunkenly staggering past houses a few streets over near to the tavern, thoughts about a woman running through his head with a mixture of sadness and rage.

A young man working on repairing a rifle, worried about a return trip to the Atlesian fort in a few hours. That one added some guilt to Jaune, knowing what Salem had planned for later to help him. That soldier might very well die because of him…

Jaune shook himself, turning to head towards the Arc Manor with a hard grimace. His family and his friends came before some random soldier in town, he'd decided that a long enough time ago. He couldn't just balk and revert back to being a pawn over one trooper who signed up knowing damn well what might happen.

Of course, he had not way of knowing about Salem, or Jaune's connection to her, or what was coming…

Jaune sighed at the internal conflict, but eventually decided to ignore it. There was nothing he could do, dealing with Ozpin and making Salem back off would save more lives than working for either ever could on their own. It was unfortunate, but no one was worth endangering that. Jaune had already sacrificed enough by now, changed enough, that he wouldn't just give up now. He couldn't, or everyone he'd hurt, everyone he'd killed, just to get where he was would all be for nothing. Every sacrifice and compromise worthless, and he'd be just another villain.

Pushing open the door to his old home, he saw his father stop halfway up the hall and blink, nodding, "Jaune. I was just coming to see you, son. About what we discussed yesterday, I called the Council and-"

"Whatever they agreed to, cancel it." Jaune said simply, sure that no one could hear them thanks to his power. Two sets of hard blue eyes met each other, and Jaune grimaced, "I spoke to Salem, she's going to intervene."

"She's going to…" " _Gods, what kind of intervention could the bloody queen bitch of the Grimm pull…"_ Jaune grimaced and the man noticed several things all at once that finally clicked in his head. Jaune looked tense, and tried to relax and failed when his father noticed, and he'd foregone the helmet and armor, which meant that he felt sufficiently safe in the city. Something Jaune had meant to be taken another way, but which his father attributed elsewhere. And finally, Jaune had spoken to Salem and came to a plan, and felt the need to come and tell his father personally, rather than a simple message that would have served just as well. The large man's shoulders squared and his brow creased, glaring at Jaune, "What did you do?"

"I asked Salem for help." Jaune said simply, the man's glare demanding a better explanation than that. "She saved me from Wi- From the Atlesian who attacked me." He amended that at the last second, to avoid political fallout for Ansel more than anything, "I went to see her after we talked, and asked for her advice."

"And?"

"She said I should make use of my resources and do what needed to be done." He said quietly, eyes softening and smiling bitterly. "That I should come up with a plan or _she_ would, and that I would no doubt wish I'd planned something myself." The larger man grimaced, crossing his arms and leaning against one of the cabinets along the wall, waiting for the plan Jaune and the queen of the Grimm had agreed on, and Jaune sighed. "The… The best idea we could come up with that she would agree to was for her to make a small attack on the Atlesian outpost down the way."

"Shit, son. You plan to deal with Atlas' thinking you are a danger to them, is to _attack_ them?" Jaune grimaced, and the large man swore under his breath. His mouth worked under his beard for a few moments before he sighed, "Vale said they wouldn't step in for anything less than our full mine's rights, and all the criminals turned over. Even the minor ones." " _The poor bastards…"_ "But… No one would die for that."

"Unless the Council decides some of them should. Or some of the people decide to chance running again." Jaune observed bitterly, the man grumbling but not arguing. Kingdoms didn't treat people who ran from the law very well, and a large scale round up would have a lot of runners which would probably result in a fight or a riot. "And Salem already said she _would_ find a solution to my problems if I didn't find one. And soon, too."

"Impatient is she?" He nodded and the man sighed, "Typical." " _At least that much is normal about the crazy bitch."_ "I suppose you'll be leaving soon then?"

"Soon as she can get her Grimm in place and gauge how much of an attack she needs to send at the fort and not wipe it out." The man raised an eyebrow at him, bobbing his head to the side sarcastically in a 'she cares' question, and Jaune sighed. "She doesn't really care about them, no, but I do. And she won't risk pushing me away for a little blood lust."

"That attached, is she?" He nodded and his father grumbled, " _Typical possessive bloody women… Once they pick a guy, he's screwed."_ "Fine, when are you leaving do you think? I'd like to actually know when my son is leaving home when he plans on coming back."

"I don't know, Dad." Jaune answered honestly, crossing his arms over his chest and moving to lean against the wall across from his father. "I have to track down Ozpin, so I'm headed to Vale first to see Glynda the Headmistress there. She works closely with him, and might be able to help find him. Assuming he isn't there already. Then I can have Ozpin talk to Ironwood and get him to back down, and Atlas shouldn't be a problem for me any more."

"Assuming your friend," Jaune grimaced at the term and his father returned the gesture and amended himself a bit, "Assuming Ozpin can get him to do it, I mean."

"He can. The way they work is that they follow Ozpin, even if his decision making and planning seems a bit…. Lacking, sometimes." Which was rich coming from Jaune, to be fair, but Jaune wasn't a thousands of years old magical girl running an academy for monster hunters or whatever Ozpin really was. "If I get to Ozpin and he tells James to back down, he should do it."

"Are you sure?" His father asked, "Absolutely sure? Because if you do this, and he can't back James down…" " _I don't know what will happen… And I won't be able to help."_ "You have to understand that if you do this, Atlas might very well put a price on your head permanently. And officially, as well, since I made some calls and you don't have one out on you yet. Not officially, at least."

"Then James is definitely doing this because he thinks I'm dangerous, and he's acting in what he thinks is Ozpin's stead. If he wasn't, he'd have an official bounty out on me... " Jaune grimaced at the idea that he could end up being _right_ about that, but ultimately decided to ignore the possibility for now. He'd know using his Semblance if Beacon was a trap, he'd sense it and turn to run.

He also probably wouldn't succeed in that venture, but that was another bridge to cross.

"Explains the Schnee too." His father grunted, and Jaune understood his thought process as he thought it. Winter wasn't expendable, she wouldn't normally be sent on that kind of mission. Not when sending lesser officers with less political fallout to their deaths would work just as well." " _Atlas doesn't mind a dead Specialist, but a Schnee is something else…"_

"That's morbid." Jaune observed quietly, the older Arc grunting an agreement. Sighing, Jaune continued, "I don't know, I guess we just have to pin our hopes on Salem and Ozpin, as bad as _both_ of those hopes are."

"I still don't understand why you compare the two." His father said quietly, raising a hand to wave off the argument he saw spark in Jaune's eyes and how the younger Arc's shoulder tensed, "Oh, relax, boy. I understand how you feel about the man in the high tower, but you have to at least grant me that he's better than the Queen of the bloody Grimm."

Barely, the only real difference was that Salem at lest was honest in her lack of value for people and her willingness to do harm for her own ends. Ozpin might have talked a big game, but his actions spoke louder, constantly putting people in danger when they didn't need to be and doing his best to turn everyone to his personal advantage. He thought of arguing the point, but Jaune diced not to argue it.

There was little point, he didn't like either of them at all, so why bother arguing with his father about it?

"I guess." He eventually shrugged noncommittally, the older Arc grunting and sighing tiredly. Jaune pushed off the wall and smiled, "I'll be hiding if it doesn't work out, and if it does... Well, I'll be back and we'll go into business like we of looking forward to just being a freight runner, it's… It seems simpler, I guess."

"Compared to the complicated shit show _you_ have been living?" " _Life as a huntsman is tame compared to this shit.'"_ His father barked a life and pushed off the wall, jerking his head towards the interior of the manor. "Come on then, you need somethin' a bit more protective than a beaten upset of old training armor and a damaged sword and shield."

He wasn't surprised by the statement, he'd known the man had something for him in some sense since this morning and it was a large part of why he hadn't gone back to his ship and grabbed his gear later in the day when people began to crowd the streets. A vague sort of sense that his father had _something_ for him,but his father never steered his thinking to it so he hadn't known what it was. So with a spark of curiosity and a bit of added oomph in his steps. he turned to follow the larger Arc through the building.

They hooked a right after they reached the living area and its couches and hearth, headed through the hallways off of it for several minutes before his father stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, reinforced with metal and set into the dark stone at the end of a long hallway. He fished out a large iron key and used it to unlock the thick door, pushing it open with a creak and stepping in without a word. All the while, Jaune felt an excitement welling up in him.

Many rooms in the Arc household were locked up and reserved, kept only for his father, Huntsman who worked for him or with him, and his sisters who had elected to train as fighters. Some were workshops, some were rooms to recover and rest in, some were for storing trophies and a coupe were for studying Grimm related items unlike the other library they'd already visited that taught more mundane items until they decided to become Huntsman or not, or more likely that his father decided if they would be _allowed_ to.

This was a storage room, but not for trophies or anything like that and not for tools, but for weapons, armor and tools for Huntsman. Swords, axes, spears, rifles, and more weapons of every kind lined the wall on one side of the long, narrow room. On the other wall, close enough to te weapon one for Jaune to reach out and touch both if he stretched out both arms, armors lined the walls at least twenty feet down.

The armors varied widely, from being heavily layered with iron, steel and more exotic materials from Atlas and Vacuo to light, padded leathers and cloth gambesons stitched by experts in Vale and Mistral alike, some with light plating on the outside of the material and some with tight hauberks of chainmail as well. All bore the Arc emblem somewhere, usually stitched or painted onto the chests or the shoulders. All were in pristine condition, likely fixed before being stored.

"So, son, well… Normally when of of you kids gets done with your training you get to choose a set of armor for yourself, you didn't get one because… Well." " _Because you weren't trained, and you ran away before anything else could be done."_ He grunted when Jaune looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "Don't say it, I don't feel like the argument. But now you're an Arc Huntsman, and you deserve to be equipped like one." " _Even if you're a damn scrawny one…."_

The older Arc gestured at the armor and weapons with a hand, "They're all in the same size, the uh, the rooms are separated that way. Most are for women, so just ignore them… So, take what you want. I'll be in the hall waitin', just…. Tell me goodbye before you vanish this time?"

The man vanished before Jaune could agree, ducking through the door and heading back down the hall. Jaune could sense his discomfort even from here, part discomfort about something and part anger, both of which were probably him trying to approach Jaune the Huntsman, and dealing with Jaune the Boy Who Ran Away.

The internal conflict was understandable, even in Jaune's eyes, though his Semblance biased him to sympathy more than some would. At least, when he had the time to properly absorb it and digest it, kind of like a meal. Anyone could eat something, sure, but you couldn't _taste_ it unless you sat and absorbed it, enjoyed it slowly and let it sink in.

Something Jaune was often avoiding, or unable to do.

Sighing, Jaune couldn't help the wide, excited grin as he was given free reign of the entire room. After five minutes, he realized the monumental task at hand. How was he supposed to sort through all these amazing, historical sets of gear, and pick ONE set to take? They were all so amazing!

Eventually, he did pick one of the many pieces of armor, setting aside pieces that didn't quite fit for whatever reason or that he didn't like the look of. Some were too heavy, or were designed for more 'mature' female figures, and he frowned at the frustration it caused. Why did _he_ have to be the only Arc male so scrawny? It would figure with his luck.

The choice he made was a medium set of armor, enough to protect him without slowing him down too much to bear and came with a set of padded black trousers made of thick burlap-like material, stiff everywhere except the joints and thick enough to turn simple blades and weak claws aside easily and a matching black cloth shirt, padded like a gambeson but thinner and lighter, probably intended to absorb impacts for him through the armor itself, with a thick and warm looking hood hanging off the shoulders, connected towards the sleeves rather than the actual neckline and looser and larger as a result, probably twice the size of a normal hood. He traded his old, worn out shoes for a set of heavy black combat boots nearby that fit well enough.

Light greaves locked into place on his calves, a dull white painted steel that curved snugly along the backs of his legs and the fronts into a large, curved knee guard that encompassed his entire knee like a large pauldron, studded with several thick bolts on the fronts that would make striking someone with them a bit more painful. They locked together when he pushed them against each other, sliding one down until he heard a dull clicking.

His upper legs were similarly armored by smooth, gently curved steel that clicked into place just above his knee under the knee guard and covered up to the top of his hips on the outside and to his groin. Heavy cloth kamas hung off a thick leather belt over his hips, partly hiding the mildly ridiculous looking points that sprouted when he knelt to test his range of movement, mostly unimpaired by the heavier armor. The kamas were a couple inches thick, able to stop a blade and useful for catching arrows and other projectiles before they could hit his legs, thin chainmail hanging from the top of them and sewn into the cloth stretching down the fabric and sewn to the bottom edges that served to protect the cloth from blades as well. The same kind of chainmail protected the gaps between the armor on his legs and each other, aside from the backs of his knees where they'd block his movement.

A triangular breastplate protected his upper chest, the segmented point at the bottom covering a large portion of his stomach and lower back, the segmenting to prevent the point jabbing into his stomach if he bent over but still protect his sternum and solar plexus. Chainmail attached to the bottom of the solid piece of plating and stretched down, hugging against his stomach and stitched into the belt securely, and he had to slide the kamas, belt and chest piece over his shoulders to get it on, the plating fitting snugly around him when he adjusted it.

The top of the chestpiece curved under his chin so he could look down and around, like a half-circle had been cut out of the top of the steel. Behind his head the metal didn't half the half-circle, partly to denote which side was the front at a glance and massively to protect his neck. Leather straps let the armor hang off his shoulders, pulled taught enough to be secure by the weight of the plate and chain, as well as the belt tied at his waist.

The chest piece tapered up at the ends near his shoulder, the furthest tips a few inches apart with small golden latch points. From there, he could attack oval-shaped pauldrons that hung down his upper arms protectively, the biceps and triceps otherwise unarmored aside from some more of the simple chainmail, fastened with thick leather bands under just under his shoulder blade and just above his elbow, so he could move his arms faster and fight more easily.

The forearms were more heavily armored, thick leather gloves with slight studs in the knuckles and a small plate on the back of his hand, layered plates along the outside of the forearms attached to a leather vambrace that protected his inner arm as well, thick enough to protect the flesh under the cloth beneath it without increasing the weight he had to deal with.

Connected under the left shoulder at the latch point and to a small gold ring at the base of his neck on the back of the armor plate, a shoulder cape with the Arc symbol proudly stitched onto the white cloth hung. The bottom edges of the cloth were tattered slightly, torn from years of hard use before the equipment had been retired. When his arm hung at his side, the shoulder cape hung down to the middle of his forearm.

The plates themselves were painted a weather-dulled white, edged in a dark crimson that reminded him of Ruby's cloak that stood out well against the black under-suit and the dull silver of the chainmail.

Finding a weapon had been even harder, almost none of them being too large for him to use. Eventually, he settled on the familiar, something he knew well enough to use and feel comfortable with fighting.

He picked out a long, leaf-blade sword about four and a half feet long and four inches wide, made of a bright silver metal with a crimson red line along the center of the blade that felt natural in his hands like it had been designed for him. A similarly red and simple crossguard rested at the base of the blade, the simple handle wrapped in dark cloth, a small ruby embedded into the pommel. He scratched at it curiously before shrugging and deciding to ignore it, sliding the blade into the dark wooden sheath on his waist.

The shield was designed like his old, damaged one, and attached to his forearm with a small circlet that he clipped closed just past his elbow and just before his wrist, opening up into a tall rectangular shield with a flick of his wrist to press a button on the metal circle above his wrist. The shield itself was five feet tall and two and a half wide, almost enough to hide behind if he crouched slightly and let it rest on the ground.

Jaune wasn't sure what the shield was made of, but the thick metal was surprisingly light, painted a dull silver with the Arc symbol on the front and edged in red. When he collapsed it, it rested on his forearm and was about the width of a dinner plate and as thick as four, but it felt like his old shield had in his hand.

The pair of weapons seemed almost designed for the armor he wore, and even though they'd been across from each other, they weren't labeled. Maybe they had been set across from each other on purpose, but the other sets of weapons and sets of gear didn't seem to be.

At the end of the day though, that didn't matter. He had his gear, and he needed to get moving.

When he returned to the living area, his father was sitting on one of the couches that faced the hallway they'd gone down and that he'd come from, and he stood as Jaune approached, smiling, "Better. Much, much better." The Arc patriarch reached out to adjust the shoulder cape, smiling sadly, "This armor was made by my aunt, before she died. It's made of a special steel from Atlas, the chainmail too. I forget the name, but it is damned hard. My aunt never took a cut wearing this, so the stories say."

"How did she die then?" He asked curiously, that old joy at hearing about his family's exploits coming back in spite of age, experience and his circumstances.

"You always enjoyed stories, Jaune…." The older man sighed, shrugging, "This isn't an interesting one, though. She drowned when a sea-Grimm capsized a ship she was one." He thumped a finger against the breastplate, chuckling bitterly, "Heavy armor does not an enjoyable swim make." " _Which is part of why I don't wear it anymore…"_ "It, uh, it looks good on you though. My Aunt Lucy always complained about how small her chest was, but… I guess it's useful now, eh?"

"Yeah… I'll probably have to get it fitted properly at some point, but it fits surprisingly well." He smiled at his father and turned to look at the fire. "Before I go, I… I wanted to apologize for running away how I-"

"Don't, Jaune." His father sighed tiredly, raising a hand to wave off the young man's concerns. "I've been doing a lot of thinking, lately, and I… I don't think what you did was wrong. Not really." " _Hurtful or not…"_ "You… I wasn't fair to you. I trained most of your sisters, but if I decided you weren't big enough, I… I refused, and cost most of them their dreams."

"Still." Jaune said quietly, "I shouldn't have run off like that. I… I would still do it again, if I were in that position, but… I'm sorry that it hurt you all." His father nodded with a muted grunt, and the two fell into a moderately comfortable silence until Jaune spoke, "Where is everyone else, anyways? I want to say goodbye to everyone, and I don't even sense anyone nearby."

"With everything goin' on, I sent them off to Vale, to stay at a friend of mine's home." His father sighed tiredly, looking around the empty hall with a strained and aggrieved expression. "Once things, you know… Settle, a bit, I'll have them come back. They left only last night." " _So the damn Atlesians wouldn't notice…"_ "Your sisters wished for me to tell you goodbye when I saw you and that they love you."

He nodded, sighing sadly. He'd hoped to spend a bit more time with them before having to leave, and that was when leaving was just him going out to _trade_ , but now? Now he was worried over Atlas, and what James would do, and finding Ozpin, and trying to corral frigging _Salem_ from going on a damn warpath.

"I… Guess I'll be going then." His father grunted an acknowledgement, sad eyes watching Jaune turn to leave.

"Hold." He called after a second, Jaune turning as he sensed his father's approach. The large man wrapped his armored son in a hug that actually took Jaune by surprise, the man himself hadn't meant it when he moved. He'd decided on it at the last second, wrapping his son in a warm hug and kissing the crown of his head, "You know I love you, right, Jaune? Even though I refused to train you?"

"I do, Father." He answered quietly, wrapping his arms around his father as best he could. "I.. I never doubted that, I just didn't like how you showed it, I guess. I'm just happy you don't, you know… Hold what I did against me."

"Never." His father said sternly, releasing him and holding his shoulders with a bright smile. "You are my son, Jaune. And a good man, underneath everything. Always do as your heart commands, and answer to no man. Least of all your fool of a father. You understand?"

"I think I do." Jaune answered honestly, thinking of Neo, and Pyrrha, and Cinder, and even Roman and Amber to an extent. Even if one of those was more an echo inside Pyrrha than anything else. "I'll protect what is mine and who I care for, and I won't give a damn what anyone says."

His father nodded, clapping him on a shoulder and bidding him goodbye, and Jaune moved for the door. He just had to hope that this wasn't the wrong path for him… Would his friends even _want_ him to save them if he turned to something he and they both hated?

He knew he wouldn't want that, in their position.

Sighing, he pushed open the door and stepped into warm sunlight, a cool breeze blowing down from the mountains and washing across the town gently. He enjoyed it as he made his way back to the ship at the base of the settlement's territory, doing everything he could to ignore the curious looks he got and the even more curious thoughts.

Some wondered at the change of outfit and color, some of them even thinking he struck a more impressive figure in the better armor. Others knew the origins of it and wondered why he was wearing a dead woman's armor, and some of them knew at least half the answer, that Arcs inherited armor and weapons all the time until they got their own.

He let them have their thoughts, for once smiling honestly of his own accord, and continued to his ship. He still had a _lot_ of work to do yet, before he could truly rest and look forward to the rest of his life.

But at the very least, he felt like things were looking up now.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Cadaver :**_

 **Salem isn't the type to be up front. At least, not to my thinking. Better to be owed a favor already before calling one in.**

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 **Yeah. They need to chill a BIT more than normal for them. But also yeah, Salem either feigning humanity or SHOWING humanity, both are nice changes of pace.**

 _ **Xager-The-Chaos-King :**_

 **Glad you enjoy it. I will confess to some missteps here and there, but I am learning. And I am merely glad you enjoyed it.**

 _ **HodosAnonymous :**_

 **I would think an escort quite nice, milord.**


	11. Getting a Knight On The Road

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 **Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, The channel and I are struggling financially. So please, if you're able, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Two days passed, while they healed and rested, and Salem watched and waited. She knew Jaune well enough by now, and she'd known her Grimm for centuries, she had to wait until the blasted fort was ready or they'd be over-run in minutes and slaughtered to the last man and woman. And Jaune would never forgive that transgression, which would make things… complicated for her goals.

She sighed as she walked through her new castle, the orb behind her connected directly to its other half, on Jaune's ship. It slinked along behind her, silently and under her thrall, exactly as she had designed it to. It thrummed as she moved towards her quarters, intended on getting a meal into her stomach, and she turned with a small smile. Barely an upturn at the edges of her mouth, her eyes sparking excitedly.

She made her way to her room quickly, walking as fast as she could without breaking into a run entirely, and found a seat to rest in as soon as she stepped into her admittedly rather bare room, almost empty save for the comfortable chair she was relaxing into and her admittedly huge bed. A new addition, in preparation for when she finally got what she wanted.

Given Jaune's… Circle of friends and their relationships to him, she felt she'd have need of a larger bed soon enough. And luckily, she'd had a perfect excuse to get a new bed, after Jaune's last… 'Visit.'

The creature thrummed and she sighed, "Alright, alright, fine." She spread her arms wide, eyes closing, "Go ahead."

Without a sound, the Grimm circled in front of her, climbing on top of her on the chair and pressing the smooth bottom of its orb against her stomach, just below the swell of her bust. Its tendrils spread across her body, wrapping around her limbs and stretching. The proximity let her meld her mind with the creature's, let her feel what it felt. The swell of her hips, the lean muscle of her legs, the contours of her palms, she could feel the creature touching her in an almost dizzying manner, almost pleasurable as she drove it to explore her and sync further with her own mind and body. A way that she and only she could use these creatures.

This creature and the other, distant as it was, shared their senses as well. It was how she had engineered them, so she could speak through them over such great distances, even if this particular ability was hers alone. Aside from Jaune, when he eventually joined her, who would be able to learn to use her Grimm as naturally as she did.

Maybe he'd even create a few new Grimm of his own with her. The thought excited her, but perhaps that was the Grimm's attentions as they finished joining together.

"...to me. We can't keep waiting, eventually James is going to come down here himself." She smiled when she finally heard Jaune's voice, like hearing through her own ears, and blinked her eyes open. She took a moment to stretch the tendrils languidly on the pillows and blankets she'd acquired for her Grimm, and Jaune spoke, "Salem? You there?"

"Yes, Jaune, I am here. You can calm yourself now, unless you enjoy fussing over nothing." She sighed, watching him pace back and forth in a new set of armor. She found it quite nice, if she were honest, like knights of old with a modern edge to it that appealed to her in an odd way. "What is it you require from me now, Jaune Arc?"

"We can't just sit around, Salem, Ironwood is going to try _something_ soon. And we're not ready for a lot of options he has to have on hand." Jaune explained to her quickly, clearly worried about it more than he was willing to let on. He wasn't that good an actor though, and she was learning his tells after so long watching him. The way his jaw stiffened and his eyes avoided looking at her Grimm, the anxious pacing, the balled fists.

He was anxious and worried and didn't want her to know, and she sighed good naturedly at him for it, "They are upgrading their defences, Jaune. Their soldiers are fatigued, their defences are weakened and their attentions diverted." She chuckled, dry and lilting gently, "Very, very sloppy. A rushed job, without even the smallest of doubts. I attack now, and they won't be able to hold back my Grimm. They will all die. I hold back for you, Jaune, out of respect for your desires. Otherwise, I would slaughter them, and guarantee your safety."

After a moment's silence, and knowing he doubted her, she added, "I am a selfish woman, Jaune. I would not risk losing what I want. If you would prefer the base annihilated, then-"

"No!" He barked, Salem smiling to herself when he reacted so honestly and quickly, grimacing a second after he heard her near purr of amusement. "Don't play with me, Salem. I don't like it. And you know that, you're a smart woman."

"Oh Jaune, the only playing I want to do with you is a far more… involved kind." She teased, the blonde flushing only slightly and grimacing at the tease. Sighing, she continued in a more serious tone, "I was merely offering to alleviate your concerns, and naught else. I promise. Had you asked it of me, I would have swept the Atlesians aside immediately. If you wished it, I would bring the Kingdoms to their knees and hand them to you on a platter of silver."

"You know I'll never ask that."

"So you say."

"So I _know_ , Salem." He snapped at her, a hand drifting to his new sword's handle comfortably. She'd noticed he did that often, which amused her. "I'd rather die than do that. The amount of people who would die…" His face softened and fell, and Salem frowned when she realized she'd pushed too far, "I already had to kill too many people, just to get _here_. I can't..."

"It sits unwell with you?" She asked honestly, watching him carefully. His head snapped to her and he blinked, as though realizing where he was after a moment, and he straightened, his jaw setting in a hard line. "I'm sorry if their loss hurts you, Jaune, but-"

"It's your fault!" He roared suddenly, slashing his arm between them and slamming a foot down against the steel beneath him as his eyes bore down on her and his chest heaved. " _You_ forced me to fight them, to kill for you! And what, because you're lonely? You could have said something! But you didn't. No, you sent me off to kill and fight, and you knew what it would do to me. You know, I can't sleep, not without Neo. I remember it, being stabbed, bleeding out, dying..."

"I do too." She offered quietly, the blonde flinching back at the soft words. "From when I was less… Grimm than woman, I suppose. I remember fighting and killing." She took a breath, sighing, "Eventually, it goes away. Their echoes die out as surely as time passes."

"No, they don't." He said quietly, looking at her with bright, cold blue eyes that softened only a fraction as he relented and stepped back, closer to the door. "I felt it, when I came close to your castle. I felt their pain, everything you'd done… It all tore into me, straight from you."

"Those were my-"

"No, the Grimm don't cause that." He dismissed surely, taking a deep breath and letting it out to calm himself, "They confuse me. The way they operate is… Odd, I guess, I don't know. But they don't hurt me, not like that. Which is why I am in a forest with hundreds massing nearby to fight Atlas, and I don't need my helmet. You've just… turned off the empathy that comes with the power we both share."

"Empathy is not always a strength, Jaune." She argued quietly, the blonde giving her a mocking look, his eyebrows raised and lips quirking in an equally mocking smirk. "You need others to still your dreams and thoughts, and I do not. That is proof enough to me."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night, Salem. If I had to give up my empathy just to feel like I was a decent person..." He shrugged, and she saw her opportunity vanish and fall away as he crossed his arms, and she frowned but knew better than to hang on to the scraps of what was left. "You can see the Atlesians, so how long until you think you'll be able to stage your distraction?"

"You mean my attack. Yes?" She goaded lightly, and he grunted agitatedly, "Oh, very well. This evening, most likely. It is early yet, but the work crews are cleaning up and installing defences, at least from what I can tell. So in all likelihood, I can stage it this evening with minimal casualties. There will, however, be casualties. You understand this, I hope?"

"I do." He nodded, grimacing, "Their soldiers. They knew they could end up dying when they enlisted, and… I have to do this before Ironwood sends more people after me. If he attacked Ansel…"

"Then you would have my Grimm at your aid, Jaune." She assured him gently, Jaune giving her a suspicious look. "You have proven yourself ruthless enough already, I don't feel the need to leave you alone to fight _more_ Atlesians. You killed enough of them, and I don't wish undue harm on what is mine."

"That's why you helped me against Winter?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. You've proven yourself strong enough already, and you have the ability I need you to in order for your to be able to give me what I need." She shrugged, the tendrils moving in a facsimile of the gesture. "Forcing you to show more of the same would be pointless entirely, risking you for no reason to show the same results. You have show strength, fighting enemies superior to you and winning, and ruthlessness in seizing control of Cinder's mind and betraying me."

'And now you want to see me be smart enough to get out of this mess, right?" He sighed when she simply hummed in amusement, shaking his head, "I don't need to be a mind reader to see _that_ , Salem, it's the obvious answer."

"Yes. I wish for someone at my side who is strong, clever, and ruthless enough to satisfy. While you lack the… particular kind of ruthlessness I would have preferred, you have proven that and your own strength." She confessed, sighing lightly, "I will not tolerate a dullard though, Jaune. You have to prove yourself there as well, though I would note you have done much to show that already."

"Remind me to try and fail a few of them then." He growled, Salem's brow raising at the jab, the young blonde turning for the door, "I'll make sure everything's ready to go then. Let us know when to leave, got it?"

"I understand, Jaune." She said as politely as she could, bristling and excited in equally astounding measures at how daring he was to think he could give her _commands._ None had dared do that in nearly a thousand years. "I will let you know ahead of time, you have my word."

"Thank you." He said stiffly, stepping through the door. Salem waited until it clocked shut, and a minute longer as well, to see if he would return with more to say.

Once she'd disentangled from the Grimm, she stretched languidly on her chair and closed her eyes, focusing on returning her senses to her semi-human form. The transition was always interesting, her limbs tingling pleasantly as her mind returned to registering her own biology rather than the tendrils of the Grimm. She purred as she thought over the conversation she'd just had, more than satisfied with the progress she was making.

She'd called him ruthless, and he hadn't even _blinked_ at the idea. "Oh, Jaune… You are turning out to be more than I could have hoped for from someone like you."

Hopefully, he would continue to impress.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

" _So?"_ Neo said as soon as he reached the bridge, sitting in a small swivel chair she'd gotten from somewhere and spinning, slapping the back of Roman's leg where he stood at the control panel of the ship to let him know Jaune had come back, " _What's miss small, dark and slithery have to say?"_

"Salem will be attacking either this evening or early tomorrow, she doesn't know for sure just yet." Jaune said as Roman turned, leaning against the console with a tired sigh. Jaune sympathised, the week had been spent readying the ship to leave, repairing the damage Winter had done as well as they could, and all without their robotic assistance. "She has to wait until the base is done with its construction so she doesn't end up killing everyone." Noticing their absence, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Where's Cinder and Pyrrha?"

"Off trainin' in the woods, boss man." " _Figures we have to wait because of some damn moral compass…"_ Roman sighed when Jaune raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. But he didn't bother trying to argue against what he'd said, he didn't care enough to even bother. "Said they were gonna train up a bit, Maiden stuff apparently."

" _Roman tried to warn them about the Grimm, and they both just laughed."_ Neo thought and signed, so Roman would understand her barbs without Jaune having to explain it for her. He kicked at her weakly, no real heat behind it as shown by the small smile he wore, and she stuck her tongue out at him in response. " _I think it was just a habit though, mostly. Really weird, not having to really worry about the Grimm."_

"We do have to worry, Neo." Jaune corrected her gently, leaning against the wall beside the door and crossing his armored arms with a tired sigh and an apologetic grimace. "Especially with us being, you know… Together, we have to worry. You think Salem wouldn't take you and Pyrrha both out of the picture, just to narrow down the competition she thinks she's part of?"

"You think she'd kill Neo?" Roman asked, wearing when Jaune nodded, the older criminal groaning quietly and rubbing his forehead anxiously, "Dust damn it, I thought the whole _point_ was that she was friendly!" He held up a hand when Jaune started to speak, "Don't get me wrong, I get it, she wants to get rid of Neo so she doesn't have to share. Makes sense, just annoys me." " _Nothing is ever easy. Ever. I could tie my shoelaces and something would probably go wrong…"_

"We need to make sure we're ready to get out of here, as soon as Salem's attack begins." Jaune cut in, dragging both of them back to the topic at hand. The two sets of eyes, one mismatched and bored and the other amused, snapped to him and he sighed, "We miss out on this chance, and Ironwood will send everything he has at me."

"Kinda hard to argue with it." Roman shrugged, "Can't really say we aren't a threat after you send an army of Grimm at 'em." " _Even if you are trying not to kill everyone."_

" _And then he can prove you're a risk."_ Neo added, in thought and sign again so they could all understand her, " _Atlas itself could come down on you. What would Salem do if that happened?"_

"She'd probably attack Atlas itself, if she thought it was the best way to deal with it." Jaune grimaced and sighed, shaking his head and scratching at the stubble on his chin and making a face. "I need a shave… Anyways, we can't let that happen. The loss of life there would be… I don't want to think about it."

"Then let's not fuck up." Roman shrugged, crossing his arms. "Frankly, I don't give a damn about a bunch of pansy ass Atlesians getting into shit they shouldn't. Not my problem, you know? But if you do, I guess I do too." " _Even if it is almost as annoying as Red was, morality kicking in at inconvenient times."_

"A man's full measure is in his morality when turning aside from it would bring him benefit." He quoted, Roman raising an eyebrow at him curiously. "My, uh, my grandfather used to say that all the time."

"And what happened to him?" Roman asked, smirking knowingly when Jaune grimaced.

"He got a medal from Vale and a statue in Beacon." Jaune offered weakly, the older man chuckling until Neo kicked him in the shin. He made a 'what?' gesture with his arms, and Jaune sighed. "I'm not asking you to die for me, just… Cooperate?"

"Already doin' it, kid." Roman nodded, smiling again. Warmer and more genuine this time, his eyes crinkling slightly with the gesture. "You got Neo's back, and you get her _on_ her back, so I got yours. But you ask me to put you on _yours_ , and- Ow!"

" _Dick."_ Neo signed, kicking at him again for good measure. He dodged out of the way, hiking hs leg up to safety, and she looked at Jaune, " _Your gramps sounds kind of cool. In a very 'heroic' kind of way, but still. Kind of cool."_

"You know you like the heroic type, Neo." He teased, the small woman rolling her eyes when he puffed his chest out and smiled at her. "Especially of the short, dorky and scraggly variety."

" _Hey, as long as you'll choke me, drill me into the mattress and slap my ass you can be as scraggly as you want. I'll be too busy to mind."_ She winked and he laughed, Roman spluttering beside her and turning to work at the control panel. She rolled her eyes at him and hopped up, stretching languidly, " _Well, speaking of drilling me into a mattress, if we have time to kill…"_

He watched her slip by, smirking at him as she did and rocking her hips to draw his attention down to the curve of her rear, and looked at Roman's back. "Uh, Roman, do you need anything to get us going in time or-"

"Go have fun, kid, you deserve it." " _At least you treat her right, you friggin' rabbits…"_ He chuckled, shaking his head, "I'll get what little bit is left up and ready. Just make sure you're both dressed, _showered_ for the love of the gods, and not too drained in case something happens."

Jaune couldn't promise the last one, Neo could be quite… draining, when she wanted to be. But he didn't voice that and turned to jog after the smaller woman.

Sighing, Roman got to work running the ship's automated start systems, grumbling all the while. "When the hell am I gonna get a good girl? Been too damn long… I deserve to get laid too, you know."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Pyrrha reached deep into herself, feeling her Aura shifting and churning around the foreign power of the Maiden, molding it into her hands and legs, feeling the strength swell there. Cinder saw it and felt it, smiling and cooing from where she sat behind the champion, "Good, you have the power separated from your Aura. You can feel it, pulling at you now, trying to bring you to it, right?"

"Y-Yes." She panted, sitting cross-legged in the middle of a small clearing about fifteen feet across in the forest, sweat beading on her forehead as she focused on the differences between her own Aura and the power of the Maidens. "I… It's like it's slippery, I feel as though I am wrestling with an oiled serpent twice my size."

"You've never had to determine two Auras apart inside yourself. Few ever have. It is… A difficult thing to do." Cinder offered, a way of trying to not bruise Pyrrha's ego. A concern Cinder always had about people she had to care about, and a large one of her own even now, after her rather involuntary change of mind. "It was difficult for me as well, at least at first. To grasp the concept itself is… an experience. And not one that is easy to get through, I understand that much as well."

"It's… Unintuitive." Pyrrha sighed, finally fully pulling the Maiden power away from her own Aura and blinking her eyes open in the faint sunlight dappling through the leaves overhead. "I have it, what do I do?"

"Keep it there." Cinder said, stepping around her and kneeling on the grassy ground in front of her so their eyes met, amber and green boring into each other with excitement etched into their faces. "Focus on it, and it alone, and listen to my voice. Nothing else matters, truly. Then think of something, a gesture or an item you own, and picture it in your mind. It needs to be something you have, as I instructed. What is the item?"

"M-Milo and Akuo, my weapon and shield." She stammered, eyes unfocused as she poured her concentration into the task Cinder had assigned.

"Good choices." Cinder hummed an acknowledgement and took them from where they lay beside her, laying them in her lap. She blinked down at them and Cinder smiled and stepped up and away. "Now, pick them up, and draw the Maiden's power out of your own will. Not circumstance and adrenaline, but a wish to use it."

Nodding, Pyrrha grasped the weapons, her rifle shifting into a spear as she rose, breathing heavily as she felt her heart race and the familiar energy build up along her limbs. Cinder watched, smiling faintly, until the Mistralian champion slammed the bottom of the spear's haft into the dirt in a gust of wind that threw loose dirt, leaves and small rocks away from her, a small flame bursting to life over one of her eyes. Sparks danced along the spear and Pyrrha turned with a loud and vicious snarl, pointing at a small rock about ten feet away nestled under a tree.

A bolt of lightning cracked out from it and smote into the rock, cracking it with a snapping sound loud enough that Cinder practically felt it. The attack was small and weak, and it only lasted a second before the champion sank to her hands and knees with a weak groan, tired from the effort that came with using the Maiden powers alone.

"Are you alright?" She asked after a second of the younger woman catching her breath, kneeling next to her and laying a hand on her back. Pyrrha simply nodded, and she continued, "At first, and so far, you have been mixing the Maiden powers and the energy you have for it with your own Aura. This lets you use more attacks, but they are far weaker."

"They were… strong enough." She panted, gasping between breaths and trembling from the exertion. "Why do I need… Need to change it? It works already."

"Because sometimes, you will need a powerful strike to use." Cinder explained, rubbing small circles on her back and smiling comfortingly as she could. An odd expression on Cinder's face, caught between genuine and fake, and with a cold edge to it she couldn't help. "Against Beowolves or Atlesian drones, weaker strikes will do fine. But Amber couldn't use the strongest strikes available to us, and she fell to me for that reason."

"So you're… Preparing me for what _you_ did?" Pyrrha barbed, Cinder frowning and standing. Sighing, Pyrrha rolled over and lay on the ground, groaning and rubbing her stiff leg as pain lanced up her thigh.

"In… A manner of speaking." Cinder murmured weakly, sighing as the air turned tense. "I merely... I want to protect you, for Master's sake if nothing else, from a weakness I know of. That's all."

"No, it's…" Pyrrha sighed, propping herself up on her elbows and looking at Cinder's back, chewing her lip for a moment in thought. "I just… I remember, what you did. It's not very detailed, and I bear you now ill will, but…"

"But the memory sometimes colors your impression of me." She half-asked and half-stated, sighing weakly and forcing her stiff shoulders to relax. She looked over her shoulder at the Mistralian woman on the ground, and added, "Am I always to be colored by the actions of my past self?"

Pyrrha didn't answer for a long time, and then sighed and forced herself to her feet, gingerly stepping past Cinder with as warm a smile as she could manage, "Perhaps, perhaps not. I will try, as I have been. But… I can't promise more, so let's just agree to strive for Jaune's sake, and I will… Try to think better of you. Yes?"

"I…" Cinder sighed, nodding with a sad smile, "That is all I wish for, Pyrrha. A chance. Thank you."

She nodded and the two made their way back to the ship as the sun climbed to its greatest height.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

" _Are you sure you're done?"_ Neo asked quietly, even in her head, snuggling back against him and grinding her bare rear against his hips with a need surging through her. Numbed, even as it was, Neo always had that need echoing in her mind.

"No, not really, but we can't wear ourselves out." He answered, kissing the back of her neck tenderly and drawing a pleased hum from her in response, resting a hand on the curve of her backside and giving it a possessive squeeze before sliding it around her stomach and holding her. "Believe me, babe, I want to, but…"

" _But you want to be ready in case something happens?"_ She cooed, pressing her back against his chest and enjoying the warmth there, and the feel of muscles as he shifted and moved behind her, along with a few more lewd things moving when she wiggled her hips, pulling a blanket up to cover them. " _I just… I'm finally all healed up, and I need a day to just cut loose. You know?"_

"I know, Neo." He sighed, letting her move his hand from her stomach to her breasts under the blanket, eager for the sensation for the stimulation as much as the simple affection. She groaned when he squeezed it gently, turning and tucking her chin against his elbow, and he frowned, "I want to too, but we have to get things taken care of first. You know?"

" _It sucks."_ She sighed, grinding gently back against him and smirking when he groaned and started to stiffen. " _But c'mon, don't tell me you don't at least want me to get under these covers and put you down my throat?"_

"Wouldn't be very fair to you." He argued, the girl smirking in satisfaction. "And wow, you're in a very dirty mood today. Even for you, this a lot."

" _I have fingers, and you know I like it. And I can't help if I'm a bit excited, now that I can do it again without worrying about dying."_ She said back, Jaune sighing and squeezing her breast again to draw out another long groan. A groan he returned when she ground back against him harder, " _Just say the word~!"_

"If you insist." He sighed, smiling when she wiggled around and pushed him onto his back, trailing kisses along his muscled chest and stomach as she clambered down him. He settled a hand into her hair just as the door slid open, the tentacled Grimm hovering through, "What the hell!?"

He pulled Neo off of him with a bit of disappointment, wrapping an arm around her and glaring when Salem chuckled, "Apologies, Jaune, I wasn't aware you were making use of your woman."

"Making love, you mean." He argued, pulling her against his chest with a sigh and tucking the blanket around them both while Neo pouted. "What do you want, Salem?"

"To let you know I am beginning my attack, as you asked." She answered back satisfaction at interrupting them and drawing out his fire again so easily. "If you like, I can hold off for a time, though the Atlesians have taken note of my Grimm closing in. They won't sit around forever."

"No, don't wait." He said, sighing and ignoring Neo's pout. "We'll get dressed and head to the bridge and be under way in a few minutes, Salem." She stayed there, hovering, and he grimaced, "You can… leave now. I need to get dressed."

"Oh, Jaune, don't let me stop you." She teased, turning regardless and hovering for the door. "I wish you luck in tracking Ozpin down and convincing him to rein in his mad dog, Jaune."

" _She's nosy…"_ Neo complained, reaching down to run a finger along his length with a smirk up at the blonde. Jaune groaned and gave her a look, shaking his head gently, and she pouted, " _Come on, Roman can fly the ship on his own."_

"I know, but I want to be there anyways. I want to see the damage when we fly by." He needed to, to know the consequences of his choice was bit more important than getting off to him. Even if Neo didn't quite share that sentiment, she sighed and let him go, sliding across his lap and ghosting a kiss across his lips as she went, and he smiled as he watched her literally bounce around the room to get dressed, trying to bait him back to bed. "Behave, Neo, and we'll stay up tonight working out all that extra energy."

" _Promise?"_ She asked, sliding on her leotard with her back to him, wiggling her hips more to show off for him. He nodded and she smiled, " _Okay, I'll behave, but you better hold up your end of the deal!"_

"I always do." He said, standing and moving behind her to hug her and kiss at her neck. She groaned and melted into the touch, and he felt some regret when he reached past her for his undersuit where he'd tossed it. "Now let's go."

They had a hell of a lot of work to do before he could get back to taking care of Neo.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Winter sighed, rubbing her slowly throbbing head as she pored over more and more stories, records and hints. She was missing something, she just knew it. A million stories of Grim leaders, from engineered overlords to emergent intelligences, all malignant save a few minor examples of local myths. From the kind of early peoples who thought sacrifices appeased the Grimm, and that… called their opinions into question.

Aside from one, from several nearly-ancient tribes in Vacuo.

According to the legend, there existed a Grimm Queen of some sort. Her description varied with translation, apparently, because she'd been described with varying heights, builds and features. But what didn't change in that region's stories was the very basis of it, the beginning and what she wanted.

Every story told that she had been human once, and was twisted by her Semblance and a foreigner in a dark outfit of varying type. And that when she returned from wherever he had taken her, she had been warped physically into a grotesque creature. Pale skin, dark veins of ichor running through her body, and worse were described. And she demanded sacrifices, of men and women equally who had their Auras.

They would be sent to her, and never returned, once every thirty years for five centuries until she mysteriously vanished. It had always been assumed they were killed, but the timing was… Off.

Is this the thing she'd met when she went after Jaune? If so, what did she want?

Jaune she guessed. But why?

And why was General Ironwood avoiding talking about it?

Her head jerked up as alarms sounded around the base, and it only took a moment for her to recognize what they were and spring to her feet with a hand on her rapier, turning to a droid in the small room she'd occupied for a while now, "Droid, report."

"Proximity alarms, ranging from the furthest patrol pattern zones and inwards." The drone reported mechanically, Winter grimacing at it. "Confirmation of Grimm Incursion received. Specialist, your presence is requested. Garrison forces are under general muster status to defend this location."

"Send a damn acknowledgement." She snapped as she pushed by it and through the door, jogging through the halls and outside among dozens of other soldiers and droids, all headed in the same way.

She stepped outside and swore, drawing her rapier and glaring up at Gryphons circling high overhead. This had to have something to do with Jaune, but… She sighed, spinning up a glyph and using it to summon forth shards of ice to hurl into the sky alongside the anti-air batteries hurling explosive shells into the air, smiting Grimm out of the sky with thunderous applause.

And whatever Jaune had asked of Salem, it was because of _her_. Because _Winter_ had attacked Jaune, and he had felt pressured into this.

No…

No, this wasn't her fault. It was because of General Ironwood. Jaune couldn't, and reasonably so, believe that there wasn't another attack of some sort on its way. She wouldn't have risked waiting either, he'd already given them the benefit of the doubt once and he could have died for it. Would have, in all likelihood, and Winter would have held little concern over it if General Ironwood ordered it.

Soldiers on the wall cried out a warning, their rifles barking forth rounds into the doubtlessly large swathes of Grimm on the other side of the wall. One was ripped over the edge when he peeked over, and every last one of them knew the soldier's fate.

All of this… Because the General had ordered her to attack someone he had to have known was innocent. Her rapier trembled in her hand, and she snarled as she stalked towards the wall to join the fighting.

Thank the Gods she had something to stab right now, she felt she needed it.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _ **CJ Hoax :**_

 **I mean, I am. And I am the writer. Sooooo~**

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 **Sorry, it's of my own design. Basically, it's light chainmail and plate meets fantasy armor. But I don't have any references. I sort of combined actual chain hauberk designs Vikingr warriors wore, Jaune's original armor, and a few other minor things, Lando's shoulder cape from Battlefront 2 included. Apologies for not having better, all I have are a few things you have to piecemeal.**

 _ **Zenith Tempest :**_

 **Dark silver chainmail, white plating highlighted in dark red, and a black undersuit.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **See? And everyone thought I was going to brutally murder his whole family so soon in the story.**

 _ **Chuggapyro :**_

 **Someone draws it, it'll be the cover photo, bro. Won't need a link~**


	12. A Knight's Discussion

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Emperor King Perby**

 **Shadie**

 **DigiDemonLord**

 **Xager the Chaos King**

 **Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright? There's a thousand of you, so a dollar a piece would really add up and help me a lot! Once I reach five hundred Supporters of any value over a dollar, I will make a concerted effort to put out a chapter of something once every three days at the very slowest.**_

 _ **As of now, The channel and I are struggling financially. So please, if you're able, become a Supporter. We'll be uploading art and concepts soonish on a project of my own making too, and you'll get to be a part of it~! And I'll get dinner as a side benefit~!**_

 _ **I am also creating a Discord server specifically for my writings and separate from the Temple Walkers Discord server. This way, Commissioners can keep track of their commissions directly without any worries or problems off FF or Archive, and can communicate to me directly. Just DM me and I will get you a link as soon as I can, or try using this**_ _ **d is co r /a J h A**_ _**6Xk. Just remove spaces, FF deletes links usually.**_

 _ **I'm still new to it, so any advice or offers of assistance from my community would be appreciated and more than welcome.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"You're absolutely sure that now is the best time? Because we take off, and Atlas has _one motherfucker_ with a missile launcher or something stupid like that, and we're going to have quite a ventilation problem. And a side order of jackets we need. And parachutes." Roman turned from the control panel, eyebrows arching high up into his hairline nearly under his hat and looking Jaune in the eye where he stood beside him with Neo on his other side, "I'm guessing your little jellyfish has it handled?" _Because now is kind of game time, and a late showing isn't negotiable."_

"So she said." He shrugged, leaning forward and gripping the console as he felt the ship shudder and start to rev to life. "I didn't want her on the deck though."

" _Still think she's too creepy to have around?"_ He nodded without looking at the small woman behind him and she laughed soundlessly, shoulders shaking and mouth open without a sound. An eerie look, but one he was more than used to by now, right along with a hundred other faces she made without the sounds that came with them. " _I dunno, she looks fun like that. Maybe we could-"_

"No." He grunted suddenly, Roman giving him a sidelong look, worried and hand hesitating in the startup sequence. Jaune grimaced, gesturing with an armored hand for him to keep going, "Sorry, Neo is… Being Neo, I guess?"

That Roman and Pyrrha on his other side leaning against the glass at the end of the room _both_ simply nodded understandingly said some worrying things about their group's continued sanity.

" _First off,"_ Neo kicked the back of his armored leg ineffectually, her small foot glancing off is plated leg and drawing a pout and crossed arms he knew were there even without looking, " _You love me being me."_ He nodded, and she continued, " _Second off, it is perfectly normal for a couple to bring things in to spice up the bedroom."_

"The tentacle creature being personally controlled by the _Queen of the Grimm_ is not a normal thing used for… for _that_." Jaune sighed tiredly, rolling his eyes at Neo's wave of amusement that hit him a second later. Roman gave him another look, part surprise and part distant sympathy and amusement, and he groaned, "Neo wants me to… Invite Salem in with her, uh, thing. I won't remember what it's called."

"Gods, that girl. More kinks than, well, anything really. I don't think _she_ knows all of them." " _Little freak… You know what you signed up for."_ Roman snarked, inputting commands deftly as though he'd been flying stolen Atlesian warships all his life.

Which he might have been, actually, all things considered.

With a shudder and a muted thump as the engines came to life, the ship shook as it tried to rise, engine groaning loud even in the cockpit, and Jaune gave Roman a look, "That's normal, right?"

"Not even a bit." He grunted, a small red light on the board lighting up. Jaune raised an eyebrow and gestured at it, and Roman grimaced, lifting his cane and smashing it out with amuted crack before he got back to pressing buttons, "See? Not even a notification." " _Hope_ that _wasn't important…"_ "Just, uh… Her little friends won't bug us, right?"

"They shouldn't, no, not as long as we stay away from the fighting." Jaune answered carefully, Roman nodding with an expression that was grimace crossed with smirk, amused and anxious at once. "Roman-?"

The ship lurched then, and aside from Roman everyone fell forward with the sound of cracking wood and scraping along the hull and dull, muted thuds. Jaune's metal armor scraped lightly against the floor as he rose, gripping the console where Roman worked, slowly pulling back on the stick that controlled the ship's altitude and tilt with a hand on the wheel in front of him that let him turn the ship itself on its horizontal axis.

"There we go. We'll head over the mountains, accelerate for a while to gain enough momentum, and then we'll be up and moving." Roman turned, tipping his hat with a hand and smirking, "You're welcome, all. Please return to your seats, your thanks can wait until we find out if a missile is going to punch into our belly." " _Not that we'll probably worry about that for long, crashing these things tends to result in a_ lot _of dying…"_

With a last groan from the ship, and a violent rattle of metal, the light frigate rose into the air and turned East, to head over the mountains and on their way to Beacon.

" _Are you sure we can't let her-"_

"Neo, you ask for tentacle time _one more time_ and I swear to Oum Almighty, I will put my head through a wall." Jaune sighed, Roman chuckling quietly at the control panel with a few teasing thoughts. "Roman, shut up and pilot the ship."

The ship turned and they could see, a dark cloud hovered over the place in the sky they all knew the fort rested under. Like a storm cloud, but concentrated in a single place with bright and clear blue skies all around it, whirling like a tornado. He felt the people with him's anxiety rise, and understood it.

"So," Roman started, as the ship lumbered forward slowly, "They won't, you know, attack us for going over them, right? Because, you know. Missiles are a threat, but so are about a fuck ton of Grimm." Pyrrha gave him a sour look over her shoulder, and Roman shrugged, "What? Fuck ton is a technical term. Bit more than 'bout a few' but not quite an 'ass load'."

When no one laughed, he sighed sufferingly, "There goes lightening the mood, you sour assholes." _Why do I even bother?"_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"No, Sir, we can't hold. Not forever." Winter answered to the machine standing beside her, turning back to look over the wall and fire a couple well placed bursts into the oncoming horde of Grimm. Beowolves, Creeps, under-developed Deathstalkers even. Nothing terribly armored, she noted as she turned back to the machine, "We need reinforcements, General. Air support, mainly, if those avian Grimm decide to attack-"

"They _aren't_ attacking?" The general interrupted, surprised even if he'd read the initial message she'd sent on their emergency channel.

"No, Sir. They disabled our anti-air defences, what little we had set up when the attack began." She answered, grimacing at the memory of Nevermore quills tearing into the installations with far more accuracy than should be possible, eviscerating machinery and soldiers alike with ease. "What is more odd, though, is that these Grimm are… Sir, not a single one is armored enough for basic pulse rifles to be unable to penetrate."

"Jaune, brothers damned, Arc." The man growled quietly, sighing on the other end of the robot's connection. "This is his response, then. A directed attack against us, using the Grimm of all things. If this isn't a confirmation..."

"Sir, our support?" She cut in, turning from the drone as a Beowolf lunged off the corpses onto the wall, the Schnee dropping to her knees and firing up and through its head. She rose as the Grimm fell back, hair starting to come undone from the fighting and coming loose around her head, "We _need_ help, not assertions about Jaune."

"Is he in Ansel, still?" James asked, and Winter opened her mouth to answer when a shadow was cast over the fort and she looked up. The frigate, Jaune's that is, lumbered past slowly without any concern show by the avian Grimm as it did and within a few minutes it had pulled out of sight away from the mountains to gain speed and rise over the flatter grounds there. "Nevermind. Support is on its way, five hours away. Once you finish up there, I want you to get to Beacon."

"Sir? Beacon? Why?"

"We have a welcoming party to prepare." He responded simply and dryly, "Make your way here directly. I will place intercept forces between Ansel and Vale. You won't have to divert at all, but Jaune and his little coalition of convicts will have to avoid them. You can make it ahead of them."

"I don't think we need to-" She sighed as the drone turned and moved to the wall mechanically, a sign the general had ended the call and the robotic soldier was returning to its duties. Shaking her head and frowning, she continued, "Fine then, we'll talk when I get to Beacon."

This insane obsession with Jaune was getting too many good, loyal Atlesians killed for her to stay quiet any more.

She ducked under a Beowolf's leaping lunge, kneeling and turning as it rolled on the ground behind her and rose, snapping jaws seeking another target. It made for one of the wounded soldiers nearby, the man weakly pulling himself away with his un-broken arm and hurling a pillow of all things at it in a desperate bid to survive, and she perforated its cranium with a round. Standing, she looked over the railing and blinked in surprise.

The Grimm were leaving, loping back into the woods silently.

Why?

There was a single thing Grimm didn't do under any circumstances whatsoever, and that was retreat. They never stopped until either they were dead or their targets were. So why would _these_ run? Only one answer to that question made sense, and further countered James' assertions.

"Jaune." She murmured, part bitterness and part she was angry with herself for pushing him to this extreme, even at James' orders, or him for acting she wasn't sure. That she hadn't gone out of her own volition meant little even as the soldiers around her cheered.

Not in the face of the dead and dying around her. Men and women who died, because she followed an order without thinking a damn thing through for herself… And to think, she'd left behind her father for demanding exactly that.

Letting the rifle fall against the railing with a dull clank, she grabbed one of the cheering soldiers nearby and wrenched him around to face her, "Get me a Bullhead, do it now, and make sure it is fully fuelled. I have somewhere to be."

What she'd do when she got there… Well, she had an entire trip between her and that decision.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Well, how did it go?" James sighed, eyes closing at the small boy's condescending tone, sat in the same chair his old friend always used, with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "I assume that your plan, one you elected to put into play _without_ my consent I might add, had a few hiccups?"

"You were gone." James explained quietly, moving away from the desk to look out the window at his new flagship in the distance. Emphasis on _new_ , he noted bitterly. "I had to make choices for myself, in the best interests of everyone in all the Kingdoms."

"By attacking a young man we involved in things far above his depth?" Ozpin asked with a shake of his head, eyebrow raised, "I don't quite follow. Perhaps you could explain for me the evidence and reason behind you attacking someone who had not yet done anything to us of their own volition?"

"He killed Atlesian soldiers!" James nearly shouted, not even turning to look at him. "Not to mention the fake rescue request got even more killed, and resulted in my flagship being destroyed."

"None of that is Jaune's fault, James. And you know that perfectly well." Ozpin argued with a sigh, tired already of the argument. "I am not having this argument any further. He is no doubt already on his way here, which would serve as proof enough that he bears us no ill intent."

"I disagree." James argued, turning to look at the small boy. "Coming here proves nothing. They still would desire the Relics, surely. Sending Jaune here would be integral to that, he has the Maiden with him. My fleet is already screening the fastest approaches, I can set a trap here and-"

"No." Ozpin snapped heatedly, a rarity for him, and giving James a hard look. Well, as hard as a twelve year old's face could manage. "You will _not_ attack him if he comes here peacefully to speak with me. Were I able to, I would outright invite him here to speak with me."

"Ozpin, we have our disagreements. This is true, and frankly to be expected considering our… Differences. But we're on the same side." James said quietly, squaring his shoulders and looking at Ozpin with hard eyes. "Do not ask me to take chances on someone who has already killed my people."

"I'm not asking." Ozpin responded simply, reaching out to pluck his mug from the table and take a sip of the lukewarm coffee in it. James' confused expression, the reaction he wanted, led to his continued, "I'm telling you, James. You will _stand down_ and stop this madness before you push someone who brings us so many advantages away or worse."

"What could possibly be worse than him sending the Grimm to assault one of my forts? After everything I have done, the generosity I have showered Valed with in protecting it and doing as you ask, you expect me to turn a blind eye to the actual murder of my soldiers?" James demanded, voice low and shoulders a hard line behind his head framed by his massive warship in the background over Vale, flanked by smaller frigates and swarmed around by fighters, transports and more lit orange with the onset of dusk.

Not a good picture, Ozpin thought to himself with a muted frown, of a man's 'generosity'. It looked rather like a man's occupation.

"I expect you to forgive a man for what he is forced to do." Ozpin countered, returning the mug to his desk and folding his hands on the smooth surface before smirking confidently. "Or did you not send Winter to attack him, for no true apparent reason as he had by all accounts _left_ Salem's court."

"By what reports?" James asked, folding his arms over his chest and gesturing at the small man with a nod. "That he isn't physically there? Cinder Fall is still with him, as are Torchwick and Neopolitan. At best, I will grant that they are giving him autonomy now, but that is far from impossible for Salem to grant her minions. Cinder herself is an example of such autonomy being granted."

"Far more likely is that he has earned his place and been trusted to go on his own." James continued, shrugging his broad shoulders, "It is obvious enough. My military employs a similar training strategy to ensure that new recruits are trained properly, and even then they have a superior with them. As Arc does even now."

"You don't think you're being unfair, James?" Ozpin asked, the man giving him an oddly confused look at the question. "We brought Jaune into this. Our attempts to guide him were foiled and he was forced to do things and make choices just to keep his life. I trust him to have made the right decision."

"Because you are always right?" James countered, "Like with the Branwen woman, Raven."

"The one reinforcing a half-dozen of your outermost forts with her tribesmen and tribeswomen?" Ozpin asked, smiling coyly when James grimaced and glared at him. "I do not always get it right, James. I am not a god. Dust, I was barely a Wizard, back in the ancient times of the Maidens and their exploits. I do my best."

"Regardless," James began, Ozpin already sighing at the man's frustrating stubbornness. Good man or no, that was a fault of his, and always would be in all likelihood. "I can't condone allowing him within missile range of this place. By all means, we should meet with him. Inside an interrogation room and nowhere else."

"Your protests are noted, but I have made my decision." Ozpin finally said, voice low and firm as he rose, shuddering slightly and shaking his head. James made to argue and he held up his hand, "No, James, _I have made my decision._ And Oscar can't contain me in control any longer, he needs rest. Your protests are heard and the discussion is over, with a decision which is final."

"You do not get to command me, Ozpin." The man snarled, the ancient wizard actually recoiling in shock. James stepped forward and pivoted, gesturing with a sweep of his arm towards the ships behind him and continuing in a lowered, more controlled if not less dangerous tone. "Those are my soldiers. Men and women pledged to the service _Atlas_. Not you, not Vale, not even me, yet hundreds are wounded and killed every year on operations _you_ send me to dispatch them on."

"James-"

"And that isn't the end of it, either." The General continued, before Ozpin could respond, turning to face the smaller man head on, "They die for Vale, and not a _single person_ on the Council cares. Not even you seem to. You're perfectly content to let a man who has killed twelve of them himself, and _had_ hundreds killed. The fort at Ansel is under siege, and because of him. Who knows how many Atlesians will be dead when the dust settles. And you are just fine with bringing him back, like nothing happened."

"I want to hear out a potential ally." " _Relax, Oscar, he won't do anything to me. Not here, and he's to good a man for it regardless of even that. He is merely angry."_ Ozpin argued as calmly as he could, feeling Oscar's nervousness at the large general's tone and anger and trying to quell him a bit. Not an easy task, given his fraying mind and focus. "And I want to listen to what a young man I put into circumstance has to say, besides the benefits he could bring. Gods, he could know where Salem dwells even! Lead your fleet straight to her home and end this entire war with the Grimm completely."

"Lead them into a trap, more likely." He snapped back, shaking his head. "Give me a reason, Ozpin, for Oum's sake and the Brother's mercy both. For the losses I have to justify to my Kingdom. For my _arm_. For everything."

"You need to trust me, James." Ozpin answered after a long moment, voice strained and mind frayed beyond bearing. "I need to rest, James, I can't maintain this any longer or I'll be out of commission for a day or worse."

The military man simply sighed, shaking his head and moving towards the elevator, "Get your rest, old friend."

Ozpin watched the man disappear into the elevator before releasing control of the small body he dwelt in, Oscar groaning and collapsing onto the chair behind the desk limply, panting out, "I don't think… He's very happy."

Ozpin agreed, and wasn't that a worrying thought? " _I trust him. Displeased or not, he won't do anything terribly rash. He's a good man."_ The words felt hollow even to him, but Oscar accepted them readily enough.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

" _Come on, it's dark, and we're well on our way. Roman can handle it, and you promised that I wouldn't have to wait."_ Neo pouted by the door, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed under her bust and pink eyes demanding attention and affection, boring into his own. " _She can wait until the morning, whatever she wants."_

"I'm not coming to see her for her reasons." Jaune said quietly, looking to the door for a moment and sighing before taking a deep breath and returning his gaze to Neo's impatient face with a small and bitter smile, "I… I need to know, you know?"

After a moment, Neo sighed silently and offered him a small smile, " _You know, it won't make you feel any better. A lot of people got hurt, a lot of people died. You already know that, so knowing how many won't help."_

"I know, but… I'm not like you." He said simply, knowing she would understand what he meant and knowing she wouldn't take offence. "I need to know what I had done. I just… Not knowing is worse, it feels like I'm pretending nothing happened, you know?"

" _Yeah, I know. Now, up."_ She said simply, reaching up with her arms like a child wanting to be picked up. He rolled his eyes but plucked her from the ground anyways, lifting her up under her arms and planting a short kiss on her lips before setting her back down. " _You feel too much, you know. For someone in your position."_

"I know." Jaune agreed, nodding and watching her turn to leave. Smiling, he called out, "Love you!"

" _Love you too!"_ She flipped him off as she walked away towards their room, and he rolled his eyes at her follow-up. " _I'll be in bed, naked and waiting for you! Don't keep me waiting like that unless you bring the tentacles with!"_ He rolled his eyes again, chuckling for a second before the moment died out fully and he turned back to the door.

She was right, and he knew it. He was too involved, he cared too much about people who got in the way of him protecting the people he cared about. It was hypocritical, to refuse to work with either Ozpin or Salem and possibly help people across Remnant in doing so all because he wanted to protect his people and didn't care enough to protect others. He was upset about the losses that were suffered in protecting his people, yet claimed not to care for them in the slightest.

He hated that, but there wasn't much he could do. At least, not right now. Not while Atlas was a direct threat to his loved ones. He couldn't afford it, and neither could they. Winter had more than proven that to be the case.

"Jaune, I wasn't expecting a visit from you. Not to soon, at the very least." Salem practically purred from the small orb, laying on its pillows with its tendrils massed under it like a next of branches a bird might use. "What can I do for you? I am afraid I am still coordinating my Grimm away from the Atlesians and Ansel, like you asked of me, so my attention is quite diverted."

"How bad was it?" He asked, Salem humming in curiosity at the question. "The attack. How many people-"

"One hundred and two were killed, by my count, but my Grimm find it hard to tell apart Atlas' soldiers and robots. Fifty wounded, or damaged considering." She explained quickly, Jaune caught between an impressed face and a grimace, eventually just nodding at the information. "I felt you would want to know."

"Thank you." He sighed, taking a seat by the door with his back against the wall and his arms propped up on his knees in front of his chest. "I… Felt I should know. That I needed to, I mean. What this all costs, I can't hide from it."

"Having second thoughts?" She asked, sounding genuinely curious. He didn't know if she was, or if it was an act on her part, but he appreciated the effort at least. "You know you are welcome in my home, Jaune, as are your… Friends. Even if you don't deign to take my bed or my other offers, that is still true."

"I figured, but no thanks." He sighed, head rolling back to lean against the wall behind him. "I need to get this taken care of. I don't want anything happening to Ansel now, and I know Atlas might try."

"The general might, if not Atlas itself." She observed coolly, as always. "Atlas tends to be more rational than this, even if I find them as insufferably hypocritical and self-interested as any of the Kingdoms. Such brazenly aggressive maneuvers are normally reserved for wars, when they don't pretend to charitable intent. Not pursuing a criminal, or even two or three if we count you."

"Is that why you hate the Kingdoms?" He asked, Salem humming curiously at the question. "You called Atlas hypocritical, and said they pretend to be charitable."

"They are, Jaune." She agreed quickly and somewhat excitedly, the orb bobbing in the air slightly, "My, I hadn't thought we'd be having _this_ conversation so soon… But to answer your question, yes. They feigh charity, offering 'protection' for trade and resources. Even locations, sometimes, on behalf of those gods awful Schnees."

"That seems fair to me, though. They need resources to make those ships and feed their people, after all." Jaune argued, more glad for a distraction than honestly terribly interested. It was a chance to understand Salem, though, and he couldn't pass that up. How many people could even begin to claim to have a _debate_ with someone like her? "Ammo, food, water, materials for their forts-"

"Yes, and in exchange for this protection, the other Kingdoms' militaries weaken, and Atlas occupies them. In Vale, Atlas defends the walls. Atlas holds the air. Even Atlesian police come in often enough, for domestic problems. A complete occupation, and not a shot fired at their men and women." She clicked her tongue, an oddly warbling sound from the orb, "Impressive, but hypocritical. They justify this occupation with claims of defending the weak and innocent, while Faunus die in their mines for a pittance because they won't legislate fairer rights for them."

"Do you actually care about the Faunus?" He asked, genuinely curious even if he did know the answer.

"Oh, of course not. I merely disagree with hypocrites, that is all." She laughed quietly, "No, my concerns are simply that Atlas has occupied almost every Kingdom with military forces they can't fend off, and the fools _let them in_ to do it. Hell, Vale asked them to come, and authorized them to build whatever they wanted on whatever they deigned to buy up."

"I… Guess that's pretty bad, yeah." He agreed, thinking of the fort that Salem had attacked for him.

That had been sold by Vale, against his father's wishes, even if it was for a decent price that was given to Ansel. That it _had been done_ kind of rang of a problem, he could at least agree. Could Vale not defend itself? Why should Atlas be allowed to fly its military into whatever Kingdom it wanted and start staking claims?

"My point exactly." Salem agreed, sounding immensely pleased with something. Whether that they were _talking_ or that Jaune saw her point, he couldn't guess. Figured, the only person whose thoughts he needed to know was the one he couldn't. "Vale pretends to be the heart of liberty, while allowing people to harass and attack Faunus. Vacuo pretends to be honest traders, yet not a merchant in their city keeps his books up to date. And Mistral is a home of honor, and exports more poisons than any other Kingdom. How honorable, to poison a foe's food."

"Are you one to talk about any of this though?" Jaune asked quietly, "The Queen of the Grimm? Why do you care about these people?"

"I don't." She answered frankly, "But I am honest about that. I don't pretend to kindness or feigned overtures of charity. I do what I need for what I want, and I want for little but power and company that won't wither in a century's time."

"Selfish."

"I have never pretended otherwise, Jaune." She answered calmly, "Nor will I. I am selfish by nature and have no reason to change. What kindnesses I do commit I do so for your sake and naught else."

"That's… Fair, I guess." He sighed, rising and moving for the door. He hesitated with his hand on the handle, speaking without turning back to the Grimm. "You gave me a lot to think about."

"So go and think. Once you have exhausted yourself inside the girl, I mean." She chuckled darkly and he pushed through the door into the hall, somehow feeling worse than before. Groaning, he turned towards his quarters, "Neo was right, knowing didn't help…"

But she could help in another way, if only for a little while.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Lordrednight:**_

 **Glad you're enjoying it.**

 _ **CJ Hoax :**_

 **I love this Review.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **She has a lot of chilling thoughts, yeah.**

 _ **Hikari Niwa :**_

 **Yeah, she's needy like that. Which is fine, I don't think Jaune minds it.**

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Sorry for delays, all, was a bit under the weather, had commissions to do, my sister is pregnant and needy, and we're getting ready to have our own place. Apologies, I will try harder.**_


	13. A Knight's Loss

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **High Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright?**_

 _ **I am creating a Discord server specifically for my writings and separate from the Temple Walkers Discord server. This way, Commissioners can keep track of their commissions directly without any worries or problems off FF or Archive, and can communicate to me directly. Just DM me and I will get you a link as soon as I can.**_

 _ **I'm still new to it, so any advice or offers of assistance from my community would be appreciated and more than welcome.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Calls been holding for you for fifteen minutes, Boss." Roman quipped as soon as he came onto the bridge, rolling his shoulders to adjust and stretch the chainmail and cloth under it out and let it settle onto his body more comfortably, trick Pyrrha had shown him two days into their week long trip. "No Atlesian ships anywhere close enough to get to us, and Goodbitch is on the line. Please let her know that if she keeps yelling, I will drive this thing into her ivory tower, mkay?"

"No you won't." Jaune dismissed, smiling slightly at the man's good mood. His smirk and joking was infectious normally, at least according to Neo, and with Jaune's abilities on top? The blonde stood little chance, and they both were very aware of it. "None of Atlas' ships are paying us any attention?"

"Nope." " _Not that that is actually relaxing…"_ He gave Roman a look, the man easing the ship towards Beacon and sitting in a chair he'd apparently hauled up at some point, and the criminal rolled his eyes. "Yeah, look, screams 'bad idea' to me too. But Goodbitch says general Irondick is off scouting nearby. Girls are in the 'hold gettin' ready to go, armed for bear, just in case. Figure they start any shit, our resident magical girls can give 'em hell."

"Cinder doesn't like that term."

"I don't like Cinder." Roman shrugged uncaringly, letting his head rest on the back of his chair comfortably and staring up at the ceiling. He eyed Jaune, and smiled thinly, "I'm stayin' aboard though, if shit goes down… Get your asses back here, no matter what. I'll ram into Beacon Tower if I need to. Let a bust a window in." " _Or you can hop on Cinder's back, ride her back like a magical girl horse."_

"Don't tell her I thought that." Roman added when Jaune snorted in amusement, the criminal giving him a serious look. "I have found I dislike fire. And death. And fiery death, of course. You know how you put two good things together and it's great? Well this is like that, but less banging twins and more, you know…. Hamburger macaroni and cheese?"

"You lost that comparison." Jaune observed simply, watching Beacon itself as he approached. Even from the bridge, he could recognize the majority of it. The library, the main academic buildings where he'd so briefly attended lessons, and the dorms.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Roman asked suddenly from where he sat, watching the younger man with some evident concern on his face. His brows knitted down into his face, wrinkling his brow ever so slightly, and the smirk he always wore was thinner, harder like a line. "Been quiet for a hot minute, just sort of… Kind of staring. You good?" " _Great, he's finally going insane."_

"Im…" Fine, he'd almost said, but that wasn't true. Not really, anyways. Returning to Beacon now, after everything he'd been through, and as disillusioned now by everything it actually stood for was odd for him. He still stood by Huntsman and Huntresses, at least mostly, but Beacon didn't represent that to him. It represented Ozpin, Maidens, Salem, and a secret war no one knew about but everyone paid for.

Eventually, he settled on, "I'll be okay, Roman. I appreciate the concern, though." The man snorted, but Jaune sense that the concern _was_ there. Very much so, even if it was directed more elsewhere than at him directly. "I have to be, for Neo. And, well, everyone else too, but you know what I mean."

"She's both our priorities, Jaune. I can appreciate that, believe you me." " _More than most can, at the very least."_ Roman chuckled, ignoring his spluttering as he thought. Jaune turned away, trying to give his thoughts their due privacy.

It wasn't perfect - he still caught images and vague emotions, even when he distracted himself - but it was all he could actually _do_ unless he put his helmet on. And he needed his Semblance active today.

"You never asked." Roman eventually said evenly, Jaune looking back to him in surprise. "Marrying Neo. You never asked me for my blessing, you know?" " _Even after you slept with her, like I told you not to."_

"I… Didn't think about it, I guess." Jaune admitted after a surprised second of hesitating and thinking. "I… Guess I didn't think you were traditional like that?"

"Are you asking me, or telling me?" Roman asked, shaking his head slowly with a small smile as the ship listed gently in towards the landing point. "Cuz that sounded like a question, but it kind of wasn't a question." " _Or at least not technically."_

"Both?" Jaune tried, shrugging his shoulders. "I just...With everything going on, I didn't think much about you. And, uh, like I said, I just didn't think you'd be traditional like that. Or that you had that kind of relationship with her. She adores you, but I never got the parental vibe, I guess."

"Well… You have it." Jaune raised an eyebrow and Roman sighed, "My blessing, dumbass. You have it." " _Just better gimme some adopted grand babies."_ Jaune snorted and Roman sighed, this time aggravated and less than amused, "Hey, she's not my blood daughter, but she's good as. And I want some damn grandkids." " _Fuck me, I'm getting old aren't I?"_

"Yeah, you are." Jaune agreed, chuckling.

"You know, Boss," Roman started, smirking as a spike of humor shot through him and Jaune groaned internally. "Goodwitch is still on the line, waitin' on you. Might wanna talk to her before she gets tired of waiting."

"Damn it, Roman." Jaune barked, shaking his head and making a face, "Just… I don't know, put her through, I guess? Do we have, like, a viewscreen or something?"

"Yep." Roman answered chirpily, clearly pleased with himself. He started working on the console, a large screen sliding down from the ceiling in front of the control module, the windows blacking out to make seeing the screen easier for him. " Gimme a minute, this'll have the call on it. You know, for a psychic, you're pretty damn easy to distract, Boss." " _Kind of funny, actually."_

"Shut up and connect us, Roman." The man waved his hand at Jaune dismissively and hit a key and, after a moment of static, a very annoyed looking Glynda Goodwitch appeared on the screen. She perked up at seeing him,and Jaune smiled apologetically, "Sorry, Miss Goodwitch. My frigate has, uh, taken damage recently and we aren't entirely up on the systems just yet."

"Clearly." She sighed, folding her hands on the desk - Ozpin's desk - and forcing a thin, hard smile. She wasn't sure why he was here, and she was guarded, both were clear and evident. He didn't even need his Semblance to tell him either, though. "I… We didn't expect you back, Mister Arc."

"After Ironwood sent Winter to kidnap me?" He asked, hands clasped behind his back and doing his best to look military, hoping it would at least _look_ like he was like them. A threat, someone to be respected. "Was that Ozpin's idea? I know it wasn't yours, you wouldn't risk either attacking us _or_ letting me come this close to Beacon after you did."

"I wouldn't?" She asked, eyebrow arching over her right eye curiously.

"No. Ozpin might, if he thought I was a threat. Roman might have too, if he thought he could pull it off and that it was necessary. Neo would if it was safe and fun. Salem would if it served her interests. You, though?" Jaune inclined his head, the rehearsed lines coming easily from last night when he'd spent hours practicing them. "You are too cautious, Miss Goodwitch. I hadn't done anything, and you wouldn't risk me becoming an enemy instead of just not being a friend."

"You rehearsed that, didn't you?" Goodwitch asked, a small smile on her face. Jaune grimaced, and she let out a breath and leaned back in her seat, "James… Acted on his own will. Ozpin berated him after the fact. We didn't want to make an enemy. He already considered you one, unfortunately. And neglected to consult us on his decisions."

"So Ozpin is there." Jaune noted, raising an eyebrow, "Why am I talking to you then?"

She spared Roman a glance, pursing her lips for a moment before she looked back to Jaune, "I don't believe, given your company-"

"Roman is trusted, by me at least. Whatever you tell me in private, I tell him anyways." Jaune cut in, Glynda's eyes narrowing at him. "I already know he reincarnates, at least sort of. Salem told me. Just tell me where he is, he is the only one I know who can rein in General Ironwood before… Before more innocent people get hurt. On either side."

A long moment passed before Glynda deflated almost weakly, "Ozpin is… Resting. The situation is complicated, Mister Arc. You are welcome to come to Beacon and see him, if you wish. Your… Allies can accompany you, if you wish."

"You should know, Miss Goodwitch, if this ends up being a trap, we will fight." Jaune said evenly. Not a threat, he hoped she understood that. She frowned and her shoulders straightened, but she nodded, and Jaune returned the gesture. "Will you,uh, lend us a Bullhead, though? We can't land my ship there, and I have nothing to ride down."

"It will be on its way. I'm sending aerial coordinates, your ship can stay there. It's Beacon airspace, you'll be safe." With a nod from him, she ended the call, and Jaune relaxed slightly and turned to Roman.

"Keep it ready to run." Roman raised an eyebrow and Jaune made a face, half a grimace and half a bitter smile. "Just, you know. In case we have to bolt. Anything happens, you get moving, and we'll follow in a Bullhead. Got it?"

"Got it, Boss." Roman answered, tipping his hat and pressing a key to pull up the screen and lighten the windows surrounding them again, letting the daylight pour in. Roman turned as Jaune pushed the button to open the door and shouted, "Good luck, Boss man!"

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"I believe this was a mistake, Jaune." Salem whispered, the same thing she'd said a dozen times over the short trip to Beacon. "An Atlesian officer's coat and a soldier's mask won't hide what my Seer is. Not if these people at Beacon are even half-competent."

To hide the Seer, Jaune had practically torn the ship apart for days, until he found a long, white officer's coat for her to wear. Buttoned at the front, with the collar sealed up and a normal soldier's helmet over the orb, none of her Grimm could be seen beneath it. The last touch was her Seer's tendrils, arching up to form a facsimile of shoulders, and several more snaking down the sleeves to pretend at being arms, even if the hands weren't visible. The Bullhead's caro compartment was sealed away, so they didn't have much to worry about from the pilot. And Jaune would sense a reaction either way.

It looked odd, but no one would suspect a _Grimm_ in it, if they bothered to suspect anything at all.

"I have to agree with Salem, Master." Cinder added meekly as the ramp in front of them began to lower. "If they discover it, then there could be… Conflict." " _And we can't easily withdraw from a fight."_

"A protracted battle would be against our wishes, but we could win it, my Theros." " _If needed."_ Pyrrha tossed in as well, Neo humming along in front of her uncaringly as always. "Though I… I would prefer not to have to face our friends." " _If possible."_

"I want everyone there. Especially with Ozpin there, I want you to speak with him, Salem. To corroborate what I say, if I need to." Jaune said simply, understanding their concerns. He kind of agreed, in a lot of ways, and found the idea of fighting his friends just as reprehensible as Pyrrha did. "If a fight starts, we try and run. If we can't, we defend ourselves and nothing else. Salem, if that happens, can you summon a ride for us?"

"Yes, but it will take some time before a large enough Nevermore,, or even a large enough number of Gryphons, can come to your rescue." Salem answered, "If possible, I would suggest that in that situation you retreat into the forests surrounding Beacon itself, where my Grimm may assist you in your retreat. As distractions or mounts, they would help in either case."

"If a fight starts, Pyrrha, protect Neo. Cinder and I will protect the Seer and each other, and we run to where we had our Initiation." Jaune ordered, the women all responding with an affirmative. He took a breath, looking down the ramp, and then nodded to himself, "Alright, everyone, time for... Whatever happens, I guess."

Goodwitch was waiting when they finally disembarked, because of course she was, and she gave each of them a look caught somewhere between annoyed and relieved and sighed, "I'm… Glad you made it. Please, follow me, I'll show you to… Well, you know." " _Ozpin."_

When he gave her a look, she added, "We don't know who may be nearby, and we don't want anyone hearing what they should not." " _You are an example of what can happen."_ She winced apologetically, "No offence is meant, of course. I have fallen out of habit, when it comes to your Semblance."

"Yeah, takes some adjusting…" Jaune sighed, shaking his head and gesturing at Beacon Tower, above them like a looming monster that left him nervous and anxious. Ironic, he thought, considering Salem behind him. Glynda spared the Atlesian helmet a curious glance, and Jaune spoke again, before she could comment, "I brought everyone but Roman. He's in the ship, in case things go bad."

"I… I see." " _Are we so untrustworthy?"_ She felt betrayed, and his eyes narrowed at the sensation. Turning, she spoke softly over her shoulder, "Come this way, then. I'll show you a less traveled path to the office." " _Hopefully there won't be many people to aggravate your Semblance."_

After a few minutes walking, Jaune finally relented and asked a question burning at the edge of his mind, "Is everyone else, you know… Okay? Weiss, Ruby, gods, Yang? My team? I-I know we aren't one anymore, but…" She gave him a look over her shoulder, hard eyes watching him, and he shrugged, "I need to know."

"Miss Xiao Long is at Patch, resting while a prosthetic is made for her. The remainder of the two teams have been folded together." Glynda explained, turning back with a pained sense echoing into Jaune. "They are alive, and healing." " _They have much to heal from…"_

"I'm glad." Pyrrha said, letting out a breath and relaxing, "I was worried that, after all that has passed, they would be less than well." " _Such could break all but the strongest..."_ "To lose a friend such as Blake, and then see Yang in that state... it could have devastated them. Must have."

"It did." Glynda affirmed, stopping at an elevator he knew by her thoughts led to Ozpin's office. She hesitated, a hand above the button to call it, "It… broke Miss Xiao Long, losing her arm and her partner. And Miss Rose was inconsolable besides." " _When you left…"_

"But they are getting better?" He asked, voice quiet. Behind him, Neo sent him comforting thoughts as best she could, and Pyrrha laid a hand on his shoulder. To both, he said, "I'm fine."

Ruby sitting on the landing pad, knees tucked into her chest and crying, played across the Headmistress' mind and Jaune grimaced, something Glynda noted with a small smile, and he looked away. Part shame, part pain, and part trying to force himself through it. "But they are recovering, yes. It is good of you to ask." " _And good of you to still care. And to show it."_

" _Jaune?"_ He turned, looking down at concerned, vibrant pink eyes that stared into his own, Neo slipping between his shield-arm and his side and pressing against him warmingly. A comfort, or an effort to convey her intent that did more than the gesture, and she said, " _You good?"_

"I'm okay, just… Working through it." He assured her, smiling honestly at her and relaxing, his shoulders losing some of their tension. Turning back to Goodwitch, who watched the two of them curiously. Swallowing, Jaune nodded, "Let's just… Can we go?"

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"He's there now, then?" General James Ironwood asked, standing on the bridge of his command ship, laring heatedly at the greatest academy of Huntsman and Huntresses across all of Remnant, Beacon Academy, through glass so close at the end of the bridge his breath fogged it. "He's in Beacon Tower?"

"Yes, General Ironwood." Winter answered quietly, hands clasped behind her back and watching the General closely. "His vessel is nearby but our assets on the ground report seeing him enter Beacon's main facilities. He's there. All but Roman Torchwick are confirmed to be, Sir."

"And the target's frigate?" He asked quietly, not even turning to look at the woman. Winter's eyes narrowed, and she hesitated to answer, so he asked again, "The frigate, Specialist?"

"Holding position, Sir." She answered suddenly, stiff and unsure.

"Any readings?" He asked, the question directed past Winter at one of several auxiliary officers manning stations to monitor the area, from radar to systems processing the outlines of ships and gauging their tonnage, an imperfect system but useful nonetheless. "Focus your scans on their weapons, engines and cockpit. Any internal or external signals?"

"Engines are cool, just hovering, Sir. Weapons offline as well, and it isn't broadcasting, but…" After a moment to verify what she was seeing, the helmeted soldier said, "They are receiving a signal, Sir. It… Looks like they're watching a movie, Sir."

"What?" Winter blinked in surprise.

"Uh, Jacking In Seven, Ma'am." She turned to give the woman an unamused look, and the woman swallowed nervously, "Uh, it's a… New movie. They're pirating it, actually. Probably. Ma'am."

"Roman is in that ship. An escape, if their plan fails, whatever it is." James ground his teeth, eventually sighing and raising his voice, "That ship is piloted by Roman Torchwick, under the employ of known terrorists and aggressors against Atlas. Bring the ship to bear, man stations, and prepare for combat."

"Sir, this is Valean air space, we can't just-"

"I hold two seats on the Council of Atlas, command of this vessel, and have permission from Vale to defend it." He interrupted, rounding on Winter and glaring down at her. She flinched, stepping back as her hands moved to her sides, the woman's eyes narrowing, "Do as I order, Specialist. For Atlas."

"But if a battle starts, Beacon is in the crossfire." Winter argued, gesturing past him at Beacon Tower. "We have to alert them, or we break the treaties that allow us to be here. It could mean war, General!"

"Collateral for a place that is harboring more traitors,criminals and enemies of Vale and Atlas does not concern me." He laid his synthetic hand on her shoulder, smiling comfortingly, "I promise,we will limit collateral damage as best we can. But my orders stand."

"But, Sir…" She started, looking past him at Beacon Tower, and more than conscious of the eyes of the crew on her back. "This is a violation of the treaty that-"

"Specialist Winter Schnee, I hereby dismiss you from duty." The older general snapped, pushing her away and turning back to the window. "You are to return to quarters immediately and under guard, pending disciplinary action and a review of your mission readiness, after what you have said here and your previous failures."

Winter's face only showed her shocked expression for a moment before it schooled itself, and she snapped a crisp salute, turning and heading for the exit as ordered. Two drones by the door fell in line with her as she walked, and she sighed, standing at the crossroads of the ship, her quarters down the right and the hangar to her left. After a long second's thought, she closed her eyes and swore.

"Damn it, General…" Turning, she took a step towards the hangar, and a drone stepped past her and in front of her.

"Specialist, that direction is not-" Her rapier flashed through the air, its head falling away as she turned and slashed through the two behind her just as easily.

"In for a penny…" She said to herself, sighing as the metal fell to the ground, and she took a long breath and resumed her trek to the hangars. She took two steps and hesitated, a small smile playing at her lips, "In for a Penny…"

Turning, she headed for the tech bay instead, moving as fast as she dared.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Jaune's eyes locked onto the small, tanned figure sitting behind the large desk at the end of the room as soon as the doors on the elevator slid open,enough chairs for all but Salem to sit in, not that she needed one, arrange din front of it. Pyrrha was the one to voice his own thoughts, which was ironic, "A… Child?" " _Where is Ozpin?"_

"No, that's Ozpin." Jaune grunted, giving the Mistralian champion fighter a look over his shoulder, "Cinder killed the one we knew, but he reincarnates into new bodies, sort of like the Maiden powers. _This_ is his new one."

"Yes. Unlike the Maiden's powers, however, mine is more a merger of minds. A shared body between two beings, rather than a simple inheritance of power and naught else." He spared Pyrrha a glance and smiled apologetically, "Well, normally at the least. Yours is a unique circumstance, Miss Nikos."

" _That's THE Pyrrha Nikos! I-I saw her fight once when I was little, she's amazing!"_ Jaune blinked upon hearing the excited young voice, looking at Ozpin curiously as he approached the desk. After a moment, Ozpin's small, now innocent looking face smiled at him as though amused, and he heard the small, young voice again, " _Wait, he can hear me? That's… Weird. Like, really, really weird. Right?"_

" _Yes, Oscar, that is Pyrrha Nikos and he can hear your thoughts, so keep them clean."_ "Forgive him, Jaune, he's… We are both adjusting still. Perfectly normal for me, I assure you." Clapping his small hands together, Ozpin smiled and gestured at the seats in front of his desk, inclining his head, "By all means, Mister Arc, you and your friends are welcome to have a seat. I know of most of you, aside from you, in the back."

"She isn't important right now, Ozpin. Not until I find out something." Jaune said simply, a spike of suspicion from Ozpin and Glynda both, the woman moving just behind him and raising a wary eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time to spend where I don't know I am safe. I need to know how much you knew about James sending Winter to attack me and my friends, in Ansel."

"Nothing before it happened. I received reports on it from a contact of mine, and confronted him." Ozpin answered simply, smiling apologetically. "I assure you, I would not add to the number of enemies I have in the world." " _Not without just cause, at the very least."_

"We have tried repeatedly to convince James to leave you be, or at least approach you diplomatically." Miss Goodwitch added as diplomatically as she could, before smiling apologetically. "I myself spoke to him, and… Well. He seems paranoid of someone with your ability being left to his own devices." " _Even if it's understandable, this kind of hostility is just…"_

"He has refused to relent, I am afraid." Ozpin sighed, Jaune's shoulders stiffening at the statement. The ancient man, despite his vessel's youth, seemed to sympathise, looking tired as he spoke, "Rest assured, you are in Beacon, and under my personal protection. He won't attempt anything untoward while you are here. Doing so would risk war between the Kingdoms."

"A violation of several treaties between Mistral, Vale and Atlas, at the end of the last Great War, Master." Cinder answered when Jaune turned to give her a questioning look. "Technically, your father could have argued that him attacking you constituted a violation of them as well. If Vale wished to involve itself, of course." " _Which wasn't a desired outcome."_

"It might be that the general knew that." Pyrrha offered from his other side, "It would go a long way to explain how brazen he was with doing it, right there at Ansel. He knew that it might work, and Vale might do nothing because of where it was."

"Regardless, we had nothing to do with it.I trust you know this now, that you have come here." Ozpin assured them, and Jaune believed him. He'd sense any deceit from Ozpin, or Glynda if the man could somehow hide it. "I will once again request that he stop being so damnedably aggressive. I don't know that he will, but while you are in Vale, you have my personal protection." " _So far as that goes, at the very least…"_

"I believe you." Jaune finally said after a moment, sensing everyone in the room relax at the statement. His friends, because they knew Ozpin was telling the truth, and Ozpin and Glynda because Jaune had accepted what he had said. "I believe that you had nothing to do with any of this."

"I am grateful for your trust-"

"Not trus, Ozpin, belief." He interrupted, crossing his armored arms over his reclined, eyebrow raising in a clear question, and Jaune continued, "I believe you didn't do this. That doesn't imply trust, and I have none. I just believe you wouldn't waste time and manpower without _some_ kind of gain in mind."

"I have to say that I'm… Mildly disappointed that you think of me that way." Jaune wsn't swayed by the man's pained expression, and Ozpin sighed tiredly, feeling disappointed. At what, Jaune wasn't sure. "Now, I believe we have other things to discuss? Perhaps pertaining to your… Oh."

The man's face fell, Ozpin's eyes widening, and Jaune was up before the wind blasted in through the open door onto the balcony. Turning, Jaune was hit by a wall of dread, rage and grief, Neo's and his own. Pyrrha wrapped her arms around the smaller woman when she ran towards the balcony with a pained shriek, disbelieving of what her eyes showed. Cinder summoned a sword on instinct, watching Glynda and Ozpin warily, cutting herself between the Seer and them.

And Jaune just stared, hands balling into fisst until his knuckles screamed at him. Around him, glass cracked and items were slammed into the walls and the backs of shelves, even Ozpin's mug flying from his hands like it had been torn away by some invisible and unyielding force as his Aura glowed around him.

In the distance, his ship was careening toward as the ground, consumed in fire and billowing smoke.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 **Next time, the finale to the starting arc to this story. Hope you all enjoyed. For those curious, I teased this little bit of Jaune's powers in the original story, way back when. This little tidbit has been planned for a while.**

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **JdkLeBlue728 :**_

 **Glad you're enjoying it. Hoped today's twists and turns.**

 _ **Deathtrooper 900 :**_

 **Part of why I made it, initially. I don't see many sympathetic and not AU Salems. Felt worth the old college try.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **Is he? Is he** _ **really**_ **?**


	14. A Knight'sPromise

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **High Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright?**_

 _ **I am creating a Discord server specifically for my writings and separate from the Temple Walkers Discord server. This way, Commissioners can keep track of their commissions directly without any worries or problems off FF or Archive, and can communicate to me directly. Just DM me and I will get you a link as soon as I can.**_

 _ **I'm still new to it, so any advice or offers of assistance from my community would be appreciated and more than welcome.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Why are we in the forest, Specialist Schnee?" Winter sighed at the innocent voice, ducking under a branch as they made their way through the forest and towards Beacon Academy and quite desperately _away_ from the escape pod she'd stolen to get off the ship, "I am detecting transmissions from the Atlesian Battleship 'Frosted Forward' saying that the Grimm are becoming very active and requesting support. Should we not-"

"General Ironwood is violating international law and treaties, Penny." She finally snapped and answered, looking over her shoulder and whispering hotly at the small android following dutifully behind her. "If I don't find some way to put a stop to this, it could mean another Great War. You know what that would entail?"

"My memory storage centers do not hold information on 'the Great War' other than the fact that it was a large scale historical conflict." Penny informed her in that chipper, bright voice, smiling all the while. "I am afraid that without context in which to view them, what information I _do_ have is not sufficient to make a judgement of this situation based on that one."

"Wait, they didn't give you the information?" Winter asked, mildly afronted at the idea. Penny nodded to confirm, along with a cute 'mhm', and Winter sighed, "Why wouldn't they give you basic information like that? How do they expect a military AI to function without knowledge on how the _military_ functions?"

"I feel the need to point out that I am, in fact, programmed to operate within military units, as well as to know and recognize all forms of Atlesian military technology and rank. So I do, actually, know how to function as a unit inside the Atlesian military structure. I simply do not know as of now _international_ matters." Penny shrugged, smiling innocently with her hands clasped behind her, and Winter sighed aggravatedly. Hearing this, Penny seemed to panic slightly, "I-I'm sorry if I offended you, Specialist Schnee! I didn't mean to, I promise, I just meant to-"

"It's fine, Penny." Winter cut her off sharply, feeling a _touch_ of guilt when the android seemed to actually _pout_. Sighing and berating herself all the while, she added, "I just… Thought you would have it programmed into you. It was my mistake, not yours. I apologize."

"I still do not know why we are in the forest and not supporting Atlesian forces against the Grimm." Penny added quietly, clearly afraid of upsetting Winter any more than she probably believed she had.

"Jaune Arc." Winter answered simply, " _He_ is probably why the Grimm are attacking above us, and I am hopeful that I can prevent this becoming an all out war. Or, well, a Grimm Incursion event unlike one we have ever seen in our lives, at least. So just… Be patient, until we're somewhere safer, and I promise I will explain everything to you. Alright?"

"Of course, Specialist. But I have one other question."

"What is it?" She sighed, pausing for a moment to look around the forest as they went and continuing on.

Penny at least had the good sense, or was just too polite not to do otherwise, to not speak too loudly or when Winter periodically stopped to scan the area around them habitually. Winter was fully aware Penny came with an internal radar system that was pinging around them constantly in search of Grimm, but old habits die hard was a saying for more than a few reasons.

When Winter had finished and they were moving, Penny finally asked, "Does this make us friends?"

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Jaune fell to a knee as a shear wall of emotions slammed into him as suddenly and violently as the bombardment had smashed his ship and thrown it to the forest, the smoke from the fires visible already like a column of pitch that seemed to be pouring from the sky itself and to the ground. Hundreds of small craft swarmed around it, fighting the fires before they could grow and come against the walls where they could choke out the defenders on high and panic the citizens below, as well as the Grimm that had been attracted by the light and sound, and then the panic of the responders and their confusion.

And past it all, drifting towards Beacon itself, Ironwood's battleship lumbered silently through the air.

Slowly, Jaune turned to Ozpin, and the small face of the boy he now dwelt in seemed to tense, but for all the _noise_ Jaune couldn't hear the man's thoughts to know if he was tense because of what happened or if he _knew something_ about it and was afraid of Jaune for that. "Mister Arc, please listen to me very carefully. I had no _idea_ James was willing to do something like this. I swear it to you on the honor of Beacon Academy itself."

"Ozpin…" A hand snapped to his sword's grip and he leapt from the ground, drawing the sword and screaming accusations as he went. He planted his feet on the desk and raised the sword, Glynda's crop coming out at his side too slowly before he was yanked back bodily by thick, black tendrils tipped in white points snared around his arm, straining to hold him back. "You did this, Ozpin! It _has_ to be you! He only listens to you, you lying son-of-a-"

"I did not do this, Mister Arc!" Ozpin shouted, Glynda moving to step between them protectively and raising her riding crop at the Seer. Ozpin saw this and made a sour face, grabbing her wrist and wrenching it away from the creature, "No! No fighting here, _none_ of us are enemies!"

"We are now!" Jaune screamed, turning when he couldn't free himself from Salem's tendrils and snarling at Cinder, "Cinder, destroy them! I'm ordering you to wipe them out of existence! Do you under- Hurk!"

He gagged as a tendril wrapped around his throat and yanked back, forcing his eyes to stare into the warm glow of the Seer, and then… Quiet. Silence, for a moment of sheer bliss, in a darkness that surrounded him in comforting suffocation, an odd combination that he missed as light broke across his consciousness once more and he slid from the Seer's grasp, dropping the sword with a heavy metal clang as he fell to his hands and knees, panting as a strange barrier seemed to almost mute the 'noise' around him, turning the deafening and maddening cacophony into little more than a dull throb in his mind.

"Salem, what did you…" He rose, everyone staring at him in a mixture of confusion and - on Cinder's part - pain, almost, like she was fighting something he couldn't place right now in the fog of his mind, the numbness that had replaced the pain of before. It was still painful to be sure, but manageable in a much larger fashion than before. "My Semblance. I can't… I can't feel it like before. How…?"

"I am happy to explain." Salem informed him simply in an amused, and oddly strained, tone as the Seer fell in behind him and distinctly _away_ from Glynda's hot glare and ready weapon, eyes flicking between the Grimm and Cinder who stood before Jaune with her twin swords in hand and ready, trembling in her grip. "But perhaps you should relent your order to Cinder, before her mind breaks again."

"Cinder?" He spared the woman's back a glance, her arms trembling almost so violently that he wondered how she kept the swords in her hands from shaking apart. Blinking away the fog, he grimaced and said, "Cinder, stand down. I'm sorry."

"Master…" She gasped, dropping the weapons as they dissolved and sinking to her knees, shoulders heaving as she sucked in a breath she'd been holding for the entire time, afraid to even pay enough of her attention to breathing and break her fragile hold on her body. "I-I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything but… But my body, trying to obey even order I knew you would hate, but I-"

"You did what I would have wanted." He reassure her, laying a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly. Turning, he stepped towards Pyrrha, kneeling on the floor with Neo in her arms and her shield covering the small woman. "Pyrrha."

She she hesitated a moment, but moved the shield aside when he gave her a look and he, smiling apologetically, he laid a hand on Neo's forehead and said, the storm of emotion and noise slowly overcoming whatever Salem had done and threatening to hurl him into insanity again, "I'm sorry, but I can't handle all of this and cope with your… With _our_ emotions. Sleep."

She flinched, body stiffening for a moment, before her eyes fluttered and she curled up in Pyrrha's arms comfortably, falling into a dreamless sleep at his bidding. He gave Pyrrha another look, hard and afraid and needful, and she nodded understandingly, "With my life, my Theros, I shall guard her while she sleeps. I swear it to you."

He nodded and rose, turning to Salem with less suspicion and more curiosity than one might expect, "What did you do to me?"

"My Seers can numb Aura and Semblances both with but a touch and a gaze into their orb's light, assuming I am willing to invest enough of my own power into the act and the Seer itself." She answered honestly, "A… Sort of hypnosis, you could say, tricking them into disabling their natural abilities. _Yours_ will return in a moment, the effect is short lived. But now the danger has passed, so you can lower your...Weapon, I suppose you'd insist that fetishised instrument be called."

"If you like, I can very easily show you _exactly_ why it is called a weapon." Goodwitch snapped back, eyes narrow and suspicious. Of what, Jaune couldn't tell yet, his Semblance trickling back to him slowly if steadily. "I don't know what you offered Jaune to get him on your side, but-"

"I am on _no one's_ side." Jaune interrupted, returning his sword to its sheath with a heavy thunk and glaring at the woman hotly. "Salem's help comes for her own reasons, not out of some deal with me. I came here to end Ironwood's hunting me, and instead he destroyed my _ship_ and killed my friend, Roman."

"I understand that, Mister Arc, but-"

"Pyrrha, Cinder, I want you two to go and get a Bullhead into Vale ready." He ordered the two women, Cinder rising on somewhat shaky legs that steadied as he dolled out orders, "I don't care what you have to do short of killing someone, but get it together and do so quietly. We'll hide in Vale until we find a better way out."

"You don't have to steal anything, Mister Arc." Ozpin said, sighing somewhat irritably at being interrupted. Turning to Goodwitch, he added, "Go with them, please. Get everything arranged so that James, the fool that he is, doesn't shoot them out of the sky and make the _possible_ war concrete between our Kingdoms."

"You wish to be left alone with _that_ Ozpin?" She asked, sounded frightened, offended, and angry at both all at once and flicking her crop at Salem's Seer. "Simply speaking to James should be more than enough to end this, Ozpin. He is a reasonable man."

"Quite reasonable." Salem observed with an amused, if disbelieving, tone, "So reasonable, in fact, that he would never consider attacking a barely armed, unwarned air-ship in a protected area without at least some form of authorization or permission. Ozpin, did he ask _you_ if he could destroy a ship in _your_ airspace?"

"As much as agreeing with Salem makes my stomach turn…" Ozpin admitted, looking pained at the admission in a way Jaune had never seen with eyes pinched and nose scrunched like he'd caught a distinctly offensive scent, "She's… _unfortunately_ correct. James has displayed a kind of irrational reaction that tells me he is quite beyond reasoning with."

"But-"

"Miss Goodwitch, please." Ozpin snapped in a rare show of impatience and anger, looking up at the woman for all that it mattered in how cowed she was by the glare. "James has made his bed and will lie in it, but I do _not_ intend on joining him in that."

"Very well." Glynda murmured weakly, looking distraught but defeated as she moved around the desk. "If you young ladies and your…" She made a sour face at Neo, curled in Pyrrha's arms like a child, " _Companion_ would simply come with me, I will see transport arranged to Vale." " _I just hope you know what you're doing, Ozpin."_

"Master?" Cinder asked tiredly, still recovering from the mental strain of trying to refuse one of his orders. Something that he was _fairly_ sure should be impossible, not that he was complaining. He spared her a glance, and she grimaced, "Forgive the forwardness,but I don't think you should stay here alone." _Not with him and without us to protect you."_

"I won't be alone, Cinder." Jaune assured her simply, smiling bitterly and sparing Ozpin a glance. " _Salem_ will be right here."

"Jaune, I must-"

"Mister Arc, I will not tolerate-"

Flexing his Aura, and letting the anger and emotion flood into it experimentally along with the hope that he could replicate what he'd done earlier, he sent a weak blast of wind out from the whipping Aura as it surged out and away from him in every direction. Surprise echoed from everyone in the room and they staggered away, and then Jaune spoke, "Ozpin, one of my closest friends was just murdered by one of _your_ closest friends. So if me keeping the only one between you two and Salem that I trust in _any way_ in the room bothers you, then I will happily leave."

"That…" Ozpin sighed, nodding after a second, "Very well, Mister Arc. I will extend you the trust required to have _that_ in the room. It is the least I can do, given everything that has happened. Miss Goodwitch, please take your leave. When you have finished with these women, please see to the student body as well." " _Gods know they'll need to be handled with care as well, given the firestorm they an no doubt see."_

Sitting in a chair across from Ozpin with Salem's Seer looming over his shoulder once they had gone, Jaune smiled thinly under narrowed, angry eyes and met Ozpin's gaze, "Now, I want you to do me a favor, and call Ironwood. I have something to tell him. Something important."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Ruby skidded to a stop at the window outside Port's lecture, staring out at the plumes of smoke rising into the air with a look of mixed curiosity and fear, layered under a kind of concern that had her eyebrows meeting above her nose. She looked from the smoke and the busy swarm of rescue and response vehicles swarming towards and around it and then to the only two things that could have shot it down. Vale's wall-mounted defences, and the massive Atlesian ship lumbering by the wreckage with the tell-tale dot of its dorsal and ventral heavy cannons shifting back into resting positions.

Ruby liked weapons, and she knew that _those_ weren't going to be used against Grimm swarming the area. Those guns were for other ships like itself, capable of punching through armor and decks beyond easily. Which meant that if they were _moving_ it was after shooting at something.

But why?

"Ruby Rose, why would you run off and leave me like that?" Weiss asked aggravatedly, pushing aside one of the dozens of other students crowding to see what was happening and questioning it. Ruby pushed against a large man's back so Weiss could slide into the small space next to her, and the Schnee heiress' eyes met with the column of smoke and fire and then narrowed, "Did you see anything?"

"It...It looked like their heavy cannons were moving back into resting positions. On the battleship, I mean." Weiss' eyes widened in shock at the words, or the meaning behind them more accurately, and Ruby panicked, waving her hands frantically and forcing a smile, "B-But, I mean, I only just started studying that stuff a couple weeks back,and you know how bad I am at studying, Weiss. So, you know, I might be wrong or-or maybe I saw something different."

"Ruby, when it comes to studying weapons, you are among the most studious people I know." Weiss chided gently, eying the battleship in concern. "But… Why would they do that? So close to Vale and Beacon, the commander has to know this will rouse the Grimm."

"What if they did know?" Ruby asked, Weiss humming curiously and tilting her head towards her for more. "What if… What if they attacked that ship and shot it down, and _knew_ it would rile the Grimm up? What would that mean?"

"That would mean the commander of the ship valued destroying that ship more than protecting Vale _or_ Beacon." Weiss answered, frowning and taking Ruby's hand to pull her from the window. "Let's find Ren and Nora. I have a feeling a certain scraggly blonde is involved in this somehow."

Shoving their way through the chattering, nervous crowd and towards the cafeteria to look for their errant team mates.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Ship destruction confirmed, General." An officer told him, standing just behind him and holding up a small tablet. "Cockpit is determined to be crushed and the front eighty percent of the ship has been burned, crushed, or was struck by our rounds. Projected destruction of the ship is total by all implication."

"Chances of survivors in the forward half of the ship?" Ironwood asked quietly, looking at the pillar of inky smoke and roiling fire below it as his ship cruised by slowly towards Beacon. The officer shook his head and he sighed tiredly, "Good. One less problem to fear then, I suppose. How is Vale's response handling the fire and the Grimm?"

"The fire is apparently contained, sir." The officer responded, hesitating a moment on the next line of the report. "But… Sir, the Grimm are _withdrawing_ from the area, avoiding all contact save when they are directly attacked."

"Withdrawing...?" James repeated curiously, looking surprised and turning to gaze at Beacon with his mouth gaping. After a moment, his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched, mouth closing in a hard frown, almost whispering, "Beacon… He's at Beacon, and withdrawing the Grimm from the area. But why?"

"Sir?" The officer asked quietly, confused, "Did you say-"

"Order all our forces to board ships and return to Atlas, or to Atlesian fortifications. Pending further orders, they are to maintain defensive patterns and do nothing else. No other orders are to override this and all requests from Vale are to be ignored or refused." Ironwood turned to look down at the officer, eyebrow raised, "Until I decide those further orders, XO has the bridge. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" The officer replied, saluting while Ironwood stepped past and headed towards the door.

"Sir?" A communications officer called, James hesitating in the doorway and looking over his shoulder. "Incoming transmission from Beacon Academy, Sir. Identifying the Headmaster's Office of Beacon Academy as the origin. No encryptions or security measures beyond the norm detected, Sir."

"Forward it to my personal quarters and put it on temporary hold, with an explanation attached." He ordered, the soldier nodding and moving to follow the commands as Ironwood stepped out of the command bridge and the doors clicked closed behind him.

All the way to his quarters, he never regarded or responded to the Atlesians around him, nor did his frown ever vanish as he went. What could happen next, he wondered?

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Winter moved through Beacon's halls with clear purpose written across her features, shoulders back and eyes forward. Students and staff barely paid her mind, likely assuming she was here on Atlesian business as she had so often done so in the past and moving aside often without any real thought or delay. Beyond looking curiously at Penny,of course, the young android following closely behind her and staring at everything like a child might look at a candy store's stock.

Which given her _actual_ age rather than her apparent age, Winter felt comfortable with he comparison.

For the tenth time in her trek through the halls, she flicked open her Scroll and checked again to see if Weiss had returned her query about her location. Sensing her concern when she, admittedly a bit more forcefully than needed, Penny quietly asked, "Still nothing?"

"Hm?" Winter hummed, sounding surprised for a moment when Penny spoke. It was hard for the Schnee to see Penny as a person yet, given her knowledge of the true nature of the android, and talking to her felt… Odd. "No, Penny. Still no answer, as of yet, but I'm not worried about Weiss."

"You seem worried." Penny observed quietly, Winter sighing and already tired of the android's questioning.

"Not for that reason, Penny." She assured the small android quietly, more than conscious when an Atlesian soldier hurried by to another task she couldn't hope to know. But he didn't even angle his helmet towards her enough to fully register her, so she felt safe and continued, "Weiss is safe, I just… Want to get to her. For reassurance, purely."

"Okay." Penny chirped brightly, belying the worried thoughts spiking through her. Winter had been so nice to her, and she was scared, and Penny didn't like that. At _all_.

Reaching out into the ether, it was fairly easy to latch onto Beacon's wireless internet services as she walked through its halls. From there, it was an easy internet search - with no more of a foot print than a Scroll's own to show for it - for Winter Schnee. A moment later, ignoring the tabloids and military reports that spawned almost immediately, she amended it to 'Winter Schnee Sister' and found her name.

Weiss Schnee.

From _there_ a simple image search brought her to, interestingly enough, Beacon's own records of student admission. Beacon required photo identification records to register, and a picture of Weiss' face from the front and side both were on public record. So downloading a simple screen capture to her own database was less than a chore. What came _next_ was significantly more difficult, however, and moderately harder to hide as well.

Harder, not impossible and especially not for Penny of all military autonomous, artificial intelligences around on Remnant. That there were only two did not detract from her pride in that either.

Receding from the internet she instead tapped int Beacon's own security systems, purely on surface levels of course. Any real resistance was met with her ceasing her activities and moving on, purely to avoid leaving behind any evidence of her passage. Using the picture as a reference alongside the data she had also copied on Weiss' height, body descriptions and more, she flicked between the low-security cameras quickly until she found the smaller Schnee in the cafeteria of all places, seemingly arguing with several people who were likely her team members. Penny wasn't sure, and she wasn't willing to risk exposure any further for an answer she'd get inside a few minutes regardless.

"Weiss Schnee is in the cafeteria, Miss Winter." Penny offered happily, practically trembling in excitement at being able to help the tall woman. Winter stopped suddenly enough that Penny almost ran into her and turned, looking down at her with narrow, nervous eyes, and she added, "I accessed information on the public domain and used Beacon's cameras to find her. Should I… not have?"

"I… No. No you should not have." Winter groaned, looking around nervously and trying hard to hide that fact under a veneer of calm, "Did anyone detect you?"

"No, I covered my tracks easily and without incident." She smiled brightly up at the tall Schnee, "I am programmed with basic infiltration routines and hacking is one of them. I am sister tracking ready!"

"Quite." Winter sighed, resting a hand on Penny's head gently and almost affectionately, clearly tired for just a moment before it was gone. "Don't do it again, you understand? Without consulting me, anyways."

"I understand." She answered quietly, blinking innocently up at Winter in confusion. Whatever the case here, Penny understood at least that communicating was required, even if why she should delay their progress went over her head. "Would you like me to lead you to her, then?"

"Yes." Winter answered crisply, turning and gesturing for Penny to lead the way, "We'll find my sister and get both her and her friends to Vale. Appropriating a Bullhead should be nothing more than a chore."

Hopefully they could find Jaune somewhere along the way and, from there, find _some kind_ of way to a peace.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Ten minutes after Ozpin finally dialed in the number for the Atlesian general, a holographic display of the man's head and shoulder appearing in the center of the room and dominating it. The man first looked to Ozpin and then Jaune, before his eyes settled on the Seer grimly and he frowned. "I see my concerns were correct. Jaune _is_ there, and that creature is with him. Are you alright, old friend?"

"Just fine, James." Ozpin answered dryly, while Jaune simply stared James down, eyes hard and bitter. "Unlike Jaune's own friends, I feel the need to point out. One of whom you struck down within _my_ air space, in violation of numerous treaties against such an action. Surely, you must be aware of that." " _You aren't that far gone…"_

" _What if there is war?"_ Jaune heard Oscar whimper, barely audible beyond the blood roaring in Jaune's ears and Ozpin's own thoughts. " _My family, Ozpin, we have to warn them. We can't just leave them out there in the middle of nowhere."_

" _If that should come to pass, I will bring them here, to safety. I promise, Oscar."_

"Please, Ozpin." James dismissed readily, waving a hand at the mere notion of what Ozpin was saying. "I know for a fact that the only person aboard that ship was Roman Torchwick. No one will shed tears over his loss." He spared Jaune a glance, and the Seer over his shoulder, and added, "Well, no one worth consideration, at least."

"Do not antagonize Mister Arc or his, erm, _guest._ " Ozpin cut in, at least half-heartedly defending Jaune. "They, unlike yourself, have not violated international law or treaty and attacked a civilian ship in _my_ air space." Ozpin spared the blonde a glance and grimaced, " _At least not recently…"_

Jaune kept his peace, not responding and simply waiting to see what the two men would say. As much to gauge James himself as to gauge Ozpin, and make decision regarding him. If Ozpin didn't _need_ to be his enemy, Jaune wouldn't start a fight with him, but that required information.

Which meant listening, at least for now. Jaune _had_ to see what the man would say. He had to at least give him the right to apologize.

"One of them is the Queen of the damned Grimm and the other is her servant, as was the pilot of the damned ship. I do not recognize anyone working with Salem or for her as a civilian at any time whatsoever." James asserted simply and calmly, looking straight at Jaune. "Without exception, they have chosen their side of this war. And as it is the side actively vying for the utter annihilation of all Humanity I will _never_ feel guilt over their deaths."

"Except they _weren't_ on her side, James." Ozpin sighed, shaking his young head tiredly, "They came here to explain that. To show me, personally, that Jaune meant no harm and wanted nothing more than to be left alone by you. And then you _killed_ one of them in _my_ air space who was under _my_ protection." " _Don't be so foolish, old friend."_

"Winter was confronted by the Grimm when she went to apprehend him." James argued simply, shrugging, "If he doesn't serve her, why would she aid him the way she did? He is quite obviously hers. And his fellows along with him."

"Were that only the case." Salem said wistfully, actually sighing as Ironwood stiffly looked to the Seer curiously. "Jaune is unfortunately quite independant, and bit bit too pure-hearted as well, to stand behind me or beneath me."

"Regardless, Ozpin, did you call for anything substantive?" Ironwood finally asked, clearly dismissive of anything Salem had to say. Which Jaune felt was rather typical, Ironwood was nothing if not a stubborn ass. He spared a meaningful glance to Jaune and the Seer alike and added, "Or is there something… Else you needed to contact me for?"

"What?" Ozpin asked, lost for a moment before he blinked and shook his head suddenly, "No! No, James, I called because you blew a civilian ship out of the air in my air-space, without requesting my permission. With or without Mister Arc's presence I would have-"

"I already told you, Ozpin, that I do not recognize that ship as anything other than an enemy entity invading safe aor-spaces." James interrupted, sounding bored and tired, and all-together uncaring about what he'd done. It made Jaune's blood boil, listening to it, "If you want, then petition the Atlesian Council. I assure you, however, that it will result in nothing."

"Because you hold two seats." " _It always comes to this, in the end."_ Ozpin sighed, shaking his head and letting his eyes close in exasperation at the sheer stubbornness James was showing. "James, old friend, I am sorry, but I can't abide this reckless stubbornness any longer. Nothing binds you, now." " _Not even rule of law, which you once espoused as the only honorable way forward in life."_

"Abide?" The old Atlesian coughed a short, harsh laugh, sounding genuinely amused rather than mocking, "Ozpin, I'm not your _servant_. You don't abide anything I do or any way I act. I am the General of the Atlesian Military and the Headmaster of Atlas Academy, as well as two times a Council Seat holder for that. I may act as I see fit, and work _with_ you not _for_ you."

"You risk war!" Ozpin finally snapped, small body shaking in sudden anger as Oscar's own emotions filtered into Ozpin like water from the ocean and a river colliding and churning. "For petty pride and assumptions you risk _war_ between our Kingdoms! And worse, you risk driving the one you fear so badly _straight_ to Salem's arms!"

"Ozpin, I-"

"No, James." Ozpin cut across him coldly, looking to Jaune and sighing. " _The die is cast, and it is cast by you and shall be dealt with by you alone, old friend… Brothers forgive me._ Glynda _forgive me."_ "I no longer stand beside you, James. You are not the man I once knew, and I will not abide your thirst for conflict or your aggression any longer. Whatever comes for you, it comes for you without my aid."

"That…" For once, the Atlesian career officer seemed at a loss, eyes wide in shock and mouth gaping. He blinked twice and then spoke, "Ozpin, I never intended to offend you. You have to understand that I always acted in the best interests of Remnant itself. You _must_ know this to be true, surely."

"You acted in your opinion, nothing more." Ozpin dismissed, looking at Jaune and sighing. "Mister Arc, say what you wish. I won't be one who gets in your way, regardless of where you go from here, so long as you don't seek to destroy what I hold truly precious." " _Even if this is the cost, I will pay it."_

"Salem. Do you know what I want?" He asked her simply, the Seer regarding him silently. Sighing, he answered the question himself turning to look out at Vale and the fire that raged in the forest still with a grim, sad expression, "I want peace between the Kingdoms. I don't _want_ a war. I've thought about it alot. War, peace, the greater good, the Kingdoms… Even family, as crazy as it sounds when that includes Neo and Roman."

"Worthy things to think on." Ozpin offered hopefully, smiling when Jaune regarded him, hoping beyond hope that Jaune meant what Ozpin thought he did. "Even given the current situation, if not especially given it, that you would think about such things speaks to your intelligence." " _And character, hopefully."_

The smile fell and fear spiked when Jaune grimaced and looked back to the Atlesian, while Ozpin was faced with what jaune _did_ mean.

"But now, what I want more than anything is _revenge._ " Ozpin's shoulders stiffened and Jaune ignored him, looking at James and rising instead, "You took Roman from me, for no reason other than what you assumed I would do or say and don't even bother _pretending_ to apologize or feel sympathy... You _murdered_ him, and I will get justice for it. So I want you to listen, and listen well, Ironwood. Wherever you go, whatever you put between me and you…"

He drew his leaf-bladed sword and held it up so Ironwood could see it, "I _will_ come for you. I _will_ throw aside whatever you protect yourself with and I _will_ bury this sword in your chest. Justice can go to hell right along with you until this is done with."

"You think you can threaten me? I've a Kingdom of resources at my disposal, alliances and treaties, and men and women who will gladly stand before you." James said quietly, not blustering but simply asking in a low, deep tone that echoed of surprise.

"I am promising you." Jaune corrected simply, lowering the sword and making a sour face while he gave Salem a reluctant yet resigned and meaningful look, "Not threatening, _promising._ Your fleet, your Kingdom walls, nothing will get in my way. Regardless of what deals I have to make."

"You know what I will demand. To face a Kingdom is not something I would have dared before, so you know the price I will exact at the end of things." Salem said simply, the blonde nodding understandingly while Ozpin's face fell and Jaune felt his sudden sorrow spike out of him. "If you agree to give it to me, then my Grimm and your revenge will be yours."

"This conflict with Ozpin ends too." He demanded quietly, Salem humming her understanding. Sighing, Jaune nodded, turning to meet Ironwood's eyes again and smiling in a way that would have made Neo proud. "Then you'll have what you want, Salem. And I will have what I want, more than almost anything now."

Ironwood ended the call suddenly and Jaune turned, smiling after a few minutes passed as the Atlesian ship turned sharply and headed away from Beacon and vale. Hovering next to him, Salem asked why he was smiling, and he answered simply.

"Because I saw Ironwood's face, and I know what he felt." He said, turning to look up at her, "Fear."

"And what will you do now, Mister Arc." Ozpin asked, rising with fear and nerves alike emanating from him. "I won't fight you, so long as you do nothing that harms the Kingdoms themselves directly."

"Good." Jaune answered coldly, turning to the Seer and sighing, "On the coast of your continent, you said before that you had great, Grimm dragons that protected it from Atlesian expeditions. How many do you have?"

Salem laughed, bright and harsh, Jaune simply smiled a thin and bitter smile as his eyes closed in resignation and acceptance alike, and Ozpin sighed and murmured a prayer to the Brothers and beyond.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Lord Red Knight :**_

 **Yus~**

 _ **Gizmo Gear :**_

 **Yup, Roman.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **Everyone needs a good amount of irony in their diet.**

 _ **Blasing Fire :**_

 **Yeah, it's very much a situation of everyone making assumptions and being a bit selfish. James needs to calm his tits and stop jumping the shark, not that he gets another chance now.**

 _ **Dandaman :**_

 **Well. About that.**

 _ **Zenith tempest :**_

 **Possibly.**


	15. A Knight's Gathering

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **High Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright?**_

 _ **I am creating a Discord server specifically for my writings and separate from the Temple Walkers Discord server. This way, Commissioners can keep track of their commissions directly without any worries or problems off FF or Archive, and can communicate to me directly. Just DM me and I will get you a link as soon as I can.**_

 _ **We now have our own house as well and, after some growing pains, uploads here and on YT will hopefully become faster and better, as well as more regular.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"No, I don't know for certain if Jaune is involved. But this situation just… feels like one he would be involved in, doesn't it?" Weiss asked meaningfully, watching the Atlesian fleet that had previously been lumbering around on what had to have been patrol routes turn and start to move with purpose distinctly _away_ from Beacon.

If Weiss didn't know any better, she'd have said they were _running_. But Atlas was known for not running from battle, and there wasn't even a _battle_ to run from here. So why?

"Compared to what else he has managed to involve himself in, I find it easy to imagine him starting something with Atlas." Ren agreed, Nora quiet and subdued beside and just behind him. Ever since they'd come back from the Grimmlands after their battle there, if that could be even called that, she'd been quieter and more withdrawn. Not terribly and enough that people outside their team probably would notice it.

Judging from Ren's hand holding her own gently and rubbing his thumb reassuringly along the top of it, he noticed it as well as she had. And that quiet had gotten worse at the mention of Jaune.

"Ruby said she saw the heavy cannons on the flagship moving back into their resting positions." Weiss offered quietly, more than wary of anyone around them hearing what they were saying. Why, she wasn't entirely certain, but something tugged her to quietness and a sort of paranoia she found uncomfortable. Looking at Ruby, the larger yet younger woman leaning against the wall beside the window and staring at her feet nervously, Weiss prodded her with a foot, "Correct, Ruby?"

Suddenly all eyes rounded on the youngest of the group and Ruby swallowed nervously, "I-I mean, you know, the guns were moving back, yeah. B-But I dunno if that's what happened, exactly. I didn't, you know, _see_ the guns go off or anything. So I can't, you know, be too sure if that's true, Weiss."

"Ruby, would those guns move out of resting position for anything less than shooting down a large ship?" Ruby chewed her lip at Weiss' frank question and the girl sighed, crossing her arms and resting against the edge of the windowsill. "Then odds are good that they fired on that ship."

"Isn't that against the rules?" Nora asked quietly, Ren squeezing her hand to encourage her less out of need on her part than habit. When Weiss also raised an eyebrow she finally spoke, "This is Beacon. The Headmaster of Headmistress would have to permit it. And if someone was _there_ …"

"Then they were probably invited." Weiss muttered, half to herself and half to the others while her foot tapped absently and her mind raced. "If the Atlesian military attacked an airship in Beacon airspace and are now _withdrawing_ , as they clearly are judging from their formation and the directions they are taking, that would breach treaties not just dating to the Great War but even further back."

"Atlas is willing to risk another Great War?" Ren asked, thin eyebrow raised as he feigned calm composure. Internally his mind was racing as fast as Weiss' own, running through the possible targets that would motivate Atlas to consider that a worthwhile risk. "Jaune is the only one capable of drawing that sort of reaction out of Atlas. Or rather, he's the only with access to the person who fits that description."

"You don't mean….?" Ruby swallowed nervously and trembled slightly when Ren nodded. "But… She should be dead. We destroyed her castle, we all _saw_ the fire and explosions and it collapsing."

"Apparently she may not be as dead as we hoped." Ren observed dryly, watching Ruby's face go paler than her complexion already was at the implications. "When Jaune returned, his blade was slicked with blood and I personally saw him see to the death of one of … _that thing's_ people, and he _did_ blow up the castle himself as well. But…"

"He never once left his own cabin after that, didn't even get his own food. And he looked like something was eating him up the couple of times I saw him on the way back." Ruby murmured, eyes searching the floor as though it held all the answers she needed to the problems plaguing her right now. When they apparently didn't provide them she continued, "I thought he felt, I don't know, guilty I guess."

"He had been through quite a lot, from what I understand." Weiss agreed weekly, shaking her head regardless. "But… Given what we know is out there in this world, now, and taken in part with today's events, I don't think that is the correct conclusion. Not given the… Well, the smoldering wreckage not five miles out, frankly."

"And all of this points to Jaune being here." Ruby followed, "If he was in Vale he'd have been… a _lot_ further away than he is now. B-But is he…?"

"Dead?" Weiss asked coldly, shaking her head at the prospect. " _If_ that creature is still alive in some manner, then that means Jaune allowed that. If he died, I doubt that even what time has passed would have ever done so without the Grimm swarming the ones responsible and Vale itself."

"In short, we would be up to our necks in Grimm and soon to be on our _backs_ for their attacks." Ren elaborated quietly, Weiss grimacing but nodding regardless of the bluntness of the statement.

"But if… Jaune is working for _that_ now, then what should we do about it?" Ruby asked nervously, the billowing smoke a permanent reminder to them all of whatever they did or didn't do and that's implications.

If helping Jaune led to this, whatever it was, didn't that make them _responsible_ for it?

"I don't know what to do, but we can't just stay here and-" Weiss blinked once and then twice before a small smile Ruby more than recognized broke on her features and she pushed off the windowsill edge and past Nora eagerly, " _Winter_? Why are you-"

"Because of the smoke outside, blotting out the sun even now, Weiss." She cut in shortly, looking to them to be tired, mildly stressed and dirty from the forest. Before any could ask, she looked between each of them warily as another woman, smaller with curly orange hair and a smiling face, joined their small contingent at the window. "What do you know already, as I know you know much? We haven't much time to talk, and I would see what we do have spared repeating what you yourselves already know."

Instead of quick answers, as the elder Schnee had expected to receive, they exchanged nervous glances. Even Weiss, of all people, seemed to hesitate to answer her question.

A fact that shocked Winter enough that her stuff posture, drilled into her by years of military service and her father's own discipline, fell along with her face and she forced out a weak, "Weiss?"

"Perhaps you should instead explain to us what you know." She offered as diplomatically as she could, smiling apologetically at the eldest Schnee. "As you say, we know much, but we frankly are likely to know more than you. And given what I am fairly sure happened out there… We need to know your side, in all of this."

"I…" Winter swallowed nervously but sighed, turning and speaking over her shoulder, "Penny, find us a private location without prying eyes. We need to speak about a number of things, and may as well catch you up as much as we can while we do so."

"Do you mean you wish me to-"

"Yes, Penny." Winter cut her off as gently as she could, sighing and returning to her resting, military pose with her hands clasped behind her hips to wait.

After a moment, Penny spoke in a muted, distracted tone. "There is a room this way, which normally requires scheduled use monitored by the staff. It is not scheduled for use today, however, and will likely be empty all day." When the ginger blinked and smiled, her voice warmed and she continued, "I hope this is satisfactory to you, Friend Winter!"

"Quite." She answered coldly, voice... Oddly stiff and quiet, to Weiss' ears at least, before the eldest Schnee turned towards the small woman. "Penny, please lead us to this room and, if you can, make sure we can get into it. Preferably without alerting anyone we may find to be… Unsympathetic to our need of the room itself."

"Okay." She answered chirpily, turning and walking quickly away from the group with Winter in tow. After a moment's hesitation, exchanging anxious glances, the foursome followed behind warily.

Barely five minutes later, Penny pressed her hand against the slot for the Beacon-issued staff Scroll and visitor passes, humming happily as she did so, while the others watched on curiously. "Winter, who…. Who is this girl?"

"Her name is Penny Polendina, and she's not a girl. Technically, at least, she is a droid." Winter explained quietly, only willing to say even that after a cursory glance around them to verify that the side-hallway was indeed abandoned. "An advanced project to further our understanding of Aura and the synthetic applications of it to autonomous units fielded by Atlas."

"But…" Ruby started, freezing for a moment when Winter's hard eyes rounded on her before she swallowed and set her jaw, forcing herself to continue, "But Aura is generated by the soul of the person wielding it."

"You are correct, Miss Rose." Penny observed quietly, looking over her shoulder with a bright smile that caught the group off guard, given the subject matter. "My father knows that as well, and believes it. He has always treated me as a normal girl, regardless of my internals. I… Will not hold it against anyone who doesn't do that, though. Even _I_ don't know what I think about it."

"Besides which we have more pressing matters than arguments of philosophy." Winter interrupted as the door finally slid open, stepping into the simplistic study area as soon as the gap was wide enough for her to fit. The others followed her, Ruby grabbing Penny's arm before she could.

"I think you're real." She whispered to the ginger android, squeezing her arm affectionately and smiling widely. "You have an Aura, and my mom always said that was the proof that Humans and Faunus were the same. Because only real people can even _generate_ Aura. Since you can, then you are, you know?"

"I…" Penny's smile this time was wider, brighter, and to Ruby seemed to reach her eyes and make them sparkle in a distinctly human fashion. "Thank you. But Friend Winter is correct, we have more apparently pressing things to deal with then this right now. Once it is dealt with, I would enjoy spending time together if you would like to."

"I… think I'd like that, Penny. We'll be the best of friends, mechanical or not, promise." Ruby nodded, stepping past the android and into the room beyond with an offered smile and little else after that.

Penny, on the other hand, was practically vibrating in excitement at the sheer prospect of making not one but _two_ new friends in the very same day. Winter and then Ruby, and even better they both knew what she was and accepted it without a word against it. "Sensational," was all she could whisper to herself as she joined them, locking the door behind them.

Inside the room was rather barren, compared to the kinds of facilities Beacon Academy tended to run and maintain. A trio of chairs, stacked against a wall, and two computers on a long desk pressed against a wall off to the left. Several bean bag chairs and a small table beside the door were all the other pieces of furniture in the room. Dim fluorescent lights flickered overhead weakly, the only light source to the interior room. One of a dozen along this hallway just like it, all lacking windows and with only basic provisions for the students using it to study and work in peace.

"Now then." Winter started after they had all taken seats, the woman herself standing inside and just to the right of the door. "I wish to start this conversation by restating the obvious. We have very little time to speak and still act in any way real enough to effect anything in any capacity at all worth considering."

"You're probably right." Ren observed quietly, nodding his head at the older woman. "I'll be blunt then, so we can expedite this. Do you know the name Salem?"

"Yes." Winter admitted mutedly, almost subdued at the mere utterance of the name. Enough to make an impression on the four and worry Penny. The former understood why someone who knew what Salem was would react that way, while the latter simply wondered what could frighten Winter. "General Ironwood dispatched me to… apprehend Mister Arc a short time ago."

"And what happened then?" Ruby asked, a bit sharper sounding than she met in her concern for her friend and eyes narrowed suspiciously. Or her former friend, she wasn't sure she knew anymore.

"I engaged Jaune and his companions and defeated them, then took him and attempted to withdraw back to a nearby Atlesian location." Winter took a breath at the memory and grimaced, "Grimm awaited us outside, and a creature introduced itself to me as Salem. At Jaune's request, I was… allowed to leave unharmed."

"Once back at the fortified base near Ansel I set to studying." She quickly moved on, hoping to get through these items as quickly as she could so they could move on. "I had a great many questions, the largest two being why Jaune simply let me go if he was so dangerous, and _what_ Salem was. I found few answers to either, but at least more of the former than the latter. Even if they were uncomfortable to accept."

"So Jaune _is_ working for Salem?" Ruby asked weakly, face downcast and frowning heavily. "If she was willing to save him like that, and even do what he said… Then wouldn't that mean this goes all the way back to that day at the castle?"

"He doesn't work for her." Winter said quickly, when Nora looked to be about to say something. "He didn't ask permission, or anything like that, for me to go unharmed. He… _Demanded_ I be let go, almost. And the creature acquiesced almost happily. Like she desired to do as he wished, almost."

"Not something a servant would do." Weiss observed, taking a deep breath in thought at the implications as they raced through her mind. "You said you researched Salem? Any discoveries worthy of note? Right now, I mean."

"None. Just old myths and stories, with nothing concrete besides what myths often have." After a quiet moment, Winter spoke again, "I was unsure of what to do, going forward, but… Seeing the general throw treaty and alliance away simply to kill a man pushed me to my decision."

"Which is?" Nora asked curiously, arms crossed and watching the woman warily.

Closing her eyes and taking a long, shaky breath, Winter spoke, "For the greater good of Atlas, and all the Kingdoms, I will… I will help Jaune defeat General Ironwood or escape, as he chooses, and protect him lest this Salem creature decide to obliterate Atlas in retaliation for the loss of Jaune."

"Assuming he is not the enemy the general envisions?" Weiss asked carefully, mouth hanging slightly open at the declaration. When Winter shook her head, she added, "Even if he is an enemy of Atlas, you would still help him?"

"The only enemy I believe Jaune could ever be or is now is one of the General's creation. And my own as well, as his proxy." Winter asserted simply, opening her eyes to look at her sister. A soft smile broke her face and she went on, "We two are all which seek to save the Schnee name, Weiss. That cannot be done if Atlas is destroyed. And maybe if I aid him, he may seek Atlas' preservation."

"And if he seeks retribution against _you_ for starting this?" Weiss asked quietly, standing slowly, jaw set in a hard line and eyes narrow. "What if he, or Salem even, wants your life as well for this?"

"Then…" Winter sighed, shoulders sagging under weight unseen, "Then I suppose only one Schnee shall stand to redeem our name, little sister." Weiss' mouth opened and Winter stepped forward suddenly, grasping her arms and gently pulling her into a warm embrace that drowned out the smaller Schnee's words. Weiss' arms hung frozen in the air as Winter spoke, "I'm a soldier, Weiss. I go into everything willing to die for my Kingdom and my people, and for the redemption of our name as well. This is no different."

"You don't deserve it, though, Winter. I won't let him murder you." Weiss said simply, wrapping her arms around her sister and holding her tightly. "Not you."

"My life is not worth Atlas, let alone your life, Weiss." She said simply, pushing the girl away gently and smiling down at her. "And besides, up against Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune's assassin of a lover and his bodyguard?" The next smile was bitter, but sure, "You won't be able to stop him, or Salem should she be the one to demand my head in the end."

"We won't tolerate it either." Ren asserted, standing with Nora in tow. "Jaune will understand, or fight us himself. I believe he won't go that far. He was a good man, when I knew him."

"And Salem will do as he says. She wants something from him, and she won't risk that, I don't think." Ruby offered hopefully, laying a hand on Weiss' shoulder and squeezing it gently. "But all this is kind of… You know, jumping the gun. Let's go talk to him, before he leaves."

"Penny?" Winter asked simply, the ginger's eyes closing as she worked once more.

"He is on his way to the Bullhead docks, Friend Winter." Penny responded, voice quiet and clearly distressed as her eyes opened. "No Bullheads or other transport craft are, currently, present to transport him. Catching up to him should be easy."

"We'll get our equipment and meet there." Ruby said, gently pulling Weiss with her as they headed towards the door. Turning, Ruby tossed over her shoulder, "Just wait up for us, okay? We'll talk to Jaune together."

Once they were gone, Penny looked to Winter nervously, "Friend Winter…?"

"Penny, I need you to promise me something." Winter asked tiredly, fixing the young android with an icy gaze that froze her non-existent heart in her chest. "A promise is something you can't go back on, not if you can help it, and I want you to _promise me_."

"W-What is the promise?" Penny asked nervously, eyes searching Winter's own anxiously.

"Trust me to do what is best, for Atlas and my sister as well." Winter asked simply, Penny blinking in confusion. "And if I must do what needs to be done… Don't let my sister fall. Protect her, please. Promise me."

"I…" Penny paused and then nodded, smiling brightly, "I promise, Friend Winter."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"You're sure?" Pyrrha asked anxiously, looking at Jaune who in turn stared at the door out onto the landing pads with an almost… Curious expression, his sword-hand resting on the grip of his blade loosely, readily but not yet drawing the weapon. "I don't think she's worthy of trusting, Jaune. If she means to trick you now would be the time, with your abilities dampened by so many people thinking and feeling so much." " _And the echos what Salem did no doubt as well."_

"As muddied as my senses are, I can tell the differences between the people around me. And she isn't… Planning anything. If anything, she's actually scared." He answered, looking to the two women behind him, Cinder holding Neo's sleeping form cradled against her like a child and the Seer cloaked in her disguise once more, standing at the edge of the landing pad where where it hung out away from the building, just at the end of the wall. "I can't tell what she _wants_ , but one on one she can't beat me before you are _all_ aware of what she's doing. Trust me, Pyr. And you, too, Cinder."

"Whatever you decide, we will respect, Master." Cinder responded simply, adjusting Neo in her arms and giving Pyrrha a glance, "Is that not correct, Pyrrha?" " _I trust you, at least… But does she?"_

"Of course, I just…" " _Gods, explaining things has always been my greatest of weaknesses."_ Pyrrha sighed, giving a meaningful look towards the smoke billowing into the sky, "I will stand beside you regardless of where you go, or what you do, and in all things you allow. I just do not wish to see you lose yourself, and become what you would have before struck against."

An image from her mind of Jaune, boot pressing against Winter's chest as he raised his new sword high reached him, and he understood the echoing image easily enough. Even if her doubts stung him, he could see where they came from.

"Pyrrha, I can't get rid of what you're feeling with words." He responded simply, smiling reassuringly regardless. "But I'll try anyways, and promise you I'm not some bloodthirsty villain who won't even hear her out. You know me better than that."

"I should hope that I do, given my vows." Pyrrha responded unsurely, eyeing him up and down, "But does that base kindness extend to all?" " _Even Ironwood himself?"_ "Or… Is it only when it is easiest?"

"Don't even compare them!" Jaune snapped hotly, rounding on her and stepping close enough that her face covered most of his sight. She flinched at the closeness, shock echoing out of her mind and to him at his sudden anger, and Jaune continued, "I gave him chance after chance, and all I have _ever_ received is more attacks, over and over, and now one of us is dead. This ends when he joins Roman in the dirt."

After a moment, Pyrrha blinked and smiled, leaning forward and closing her eyes,their foreheads resting against each other, "I have already told you I would stand by you, regardless of anything which comes. I am yours, and I trust you." " _I just don't want you to fall from what you are…"_

Staring at her face, and feeling her acceptance and trust, Jaune sighed and stepped away, looking at the floor with a pained expression. "I-I'm sorry, Pyr, I just… It's all so much, you know? I feel so… _Angry_ and, some of it is Neo, and some of its me but I can't tell, and I can't get it out of my head, a-and-"

"Your mind is strained." Salem's eerie voice said, the small figure stepping around the Mistralian. "Too much emotions, intermingling with your own, and a kind of pain that rends hearts apart without interference. Such passion is beautiful to behold, but dangerous. Men lose themselves to it, and this is what the girl is fearing."

"You sound as though you have experience…" Pyrrha said quietly, green eyes watching the helmet bob curiously, "What happened to you, exactly?"

"I… Lost someone I loved, long ago. And in recompense I seized control of the Grimm nearest the battle where he fell and used them to slaughter the warriors who had taken him from me." After a moment, her voice lowered now, she continued on, "Then, in my grief and rage and overwhelmed by the Grimm's minds around me, I marched to their village and razed it to the ground without mercy."

"Did it help?" Jaune asked quietly, the orb hovering silently for several long seconds before Salem responded.

"Yes. I felt much better amid their broken bodies and burning homes." She chuckled when Jaune grimaced and he stepped away from her anxiously, "What, did you expect that I would have such regrets? I don't allow myself them, else I would have gone mad long ago."

"That figures-"

"But you and I are not the same, and acting as me would be a mistake." She cut him off, the blonde blinking as she spoke, "Do as you believe just, or just satisfy your bloodlust, I don't care either way. But please, do _stop_ all of your whining over whatever comes before this so far unnamed woman arrives? I've no doubt she is close by now, you all have been griping for ten minutes or more."

"You're…" Infuriating, he wanted to say, but instead accepted her corrects words and settled on, "right, Salem. Cinder, Pyrrha, stay with Salem and see about that Bullhead we were promise. Go back to Ozpin if you have to, but _stay together_. It's safer that way, easier to get Pyrrha away from anyone crowding her if they spot her."

"I will endeavor to keep them _both_ out of trouble, Master." Cinder assured, nodding at Pyrrha and then Grimmling in turn.

He nodded and she and the other two stepped by, headed across the landing pads towards several air-control officers massed around a console, coordinating the fire-fighting efforts and rescue services for whoever might be in the ship that went down, all amid the confusion brought on by the sudden and apparent desertion of the Atlesian fleet, and the withdrawal of ground forces as well.

Because of course _they_ didn't know what in the world was going on, and Jaune wasn't in the place or position to bother informing them. Not that it would matter much, for their jobs even if he had felt motivated to do more than wait on Winter. He didn't need to wait longer before she and a smaller, ginger-haired girl stepped into view, the small woman pointing towards him and looking up at the Schnee, smiling brightly until she saw the white-haired woman's own facial expression.

A pang of fear echoing out of her, and eyes wary in a stony face, she ignored the small woman and started to make her way towards him with the ginger at her heels. To her side, he saw Cinder eye her warily before turning back to the controller she was talking to. But something felt… off, to Jaune. Something that took until Winter had closed the distance entirely and came to a nervous stop in front of him, fighting an urge he knew she felt to grip her rapier defensively.

"You aren't human." He accused quietly, looking down at Penny with a confused expression, eyes narrowed at her. Both women echoed surprise and, in the ginger's case, anxiety at his assertion and he continued, "I… Your mind, it feels different from everyone else's. Somehow bigger, and… Your thoughts don't _flow_ the same way."

"She's… an android." Winter started quietly, uncomfortable already with discussing the ginger. Why, Jaune wasn't quite sure yet, but he was curious and fascinated by the reaching web of her mind, sending images of files and even pictures taken from online sources - of himself and others - as well as her own sight, meshed with security cameras watching the platform and himself even now. "It's an Atlesian experiment in synthetic Aura generation and the possible security uses that entails. I-I'm afraid I… don't know much about it, it was classified." " _Aside from her existence, everything was kept very tightly shut. Worryingly so."_

"I agree, it's worrying that they wouldn't want people knowing about this… What are they planning that they would need technology like this." Jaune offered absentmindedly, his own mind quickly thinking through everything he knew before he sighed, "The Maidens. They pursued the technology to be able to _pick_ Maidens they liked, or ones that served their purposes."

"Maidens…?" Jaune blinked, looking at Winter's confusion filled face, and she asked, "I confess I don't know why the technology was pursued, I always assumed it was simply meant to augment our ground forces." " _Outnumbered as we are,we could certainly use it… Especially with recent revelations of how dire the situation is, truly."_

"No, this isn't about that and makes perfect sense now that I think about it." Jaune shook his head, resting his off hand on the top of his sword. "But I can figure out what to do about that later. For now, I have to wonder why Ironwood's lap dog is _here_ when his fleet is very quickly beating feet north."

"I…" Winter hesitated a moment, swallowing anxiously, "Do you not already know?" " _He is a psychic, after all, he should know."_

"I read minds, Winter. I can only tell what a person nearby is thinking at the moment, or feeling if I pay attention." Jaune explained simply, confused for a moment, "Didn't you say Ironwood made you a file to read on my Semblance? When I was here, I mean. At Beacon."

"It was mostly theory, unfortunately, as even you seemed to not fully understand how your Semblance works." " _This isn't how I expected this to go…"_

"What, did you expect me to put my sword to your throat?" He asked sharply, Winter flinching at the frankness and her eyes flicking to his hand on the pommel of his sword in pseudo-answer. "I'm not insane. No one here is going to allow me to kill you, even if I wanted to. Which I don't."

"You… don't?" She asked, sounding and - to Jaune especially- radiating relief at the idea, "I… Felt that as at least part of the instigator for what has occurred today, you might paint me and Atlas with the same brush as the general himself." " _Gods, even Weiss and her friends thought it…"_ When he gave her a disparaging look, she added, "It… Seemed an obvious enough possibility."

"I guess." He shrugged, sighing, "I guess the others are on their way then?"

"Yes." She answered honestly, making a pained face, "I… I believed you may wish to kill me, and wanted to speak to Weiss first should that come to pass. I have made a large number of mistakes regarding Weiss, and not saying goodbye isn't one I wished to join that list."

"The only person I want to kill is Ironwood." He assured her, though from the disquiet he sensed that cause he knew that didn't _quite_ comfort her. "He's had more than enough chances, and I will have my revenge for all his crimes against me and my friends. No one else will bring him in, after all."

"I… only hoped to plead with you on Atlas itself's behalf." She confessed weakly, "I feared that your wrath might not end with him, or that you would… Let my home be destroyed in his pursuit."" _A flawed home it might be, but annihilation isn't what it deserves."_

"I won't." He assured her, feeling her calm until he added the next part. "If I can't destroy his fleet and kill him before he gets there, then I'll simply surround Atlas in Grimm no one can face and _demand_ his presence and his head. You shouldn't have been making assumptions like that, that kind of thinking is exactly what _caused_ all of this crap."

"I understand. Of course, you're right, making assumptions about you is what brought all this on. I shouldn't have made assumptions further. Forgive me." She bowed her head and Jaune rolled his eyes until she straightened, looking at him curiously, echoing relief. "And forgive me a second time for asking, but how are you planning to get Atlas to hand over their Councilman and most decorated military officer?" " _Assuming anyone exists to even make that decision."_

"Salem's great dragons guard her continent from exploration, and herself from discovery. They have snuffed out everything Atlas has ever sent up until now, and can help here too." He explained simply, "I already have a plan in mind. And it doesn't include destroying a Kingdom full of innocent Humans and Faunus. All of this isn't well explained, because we don't have time right now since I sense that Cinder has gotten me my Bullhead finally, but I can at least promise no to randomly kill everyone there."

"I wish to come with you, then." She said suddenly, Jaune raising an eyebrow curiously, "As a representative of Atlas, I can report on his treaty violations her directly to the military officialdom there. If you wish to do this without war, then-"

"You're welcome to come." Jaune interrupted her dryly, holding a hand out for her to shake with a flat face. "I'll tell Cinder to get a second Bullhead for you and the others, since I am sure they won't get left behind. I know them, and get the feeling they'd just follow me anyways if I don't take them."

Hesitating a moment, she took the hand and shook it firmly, "Thank you, Mister Arc. I… appreciate how honorable you are, even now given everything that's been done to you. And I apologize for my part in it."

"Let's just get this show on the road. You're in charge of reigning in Ruby and the others." He dismissed, turning and striding towards Cinder quickly. "I'm not a very patient person right now, so I don't feel like letting Ironwood get any more space on us."

Lost in the noise and far enough away Jaune didn't notice, a lithe woman watching him from a window pushed off the railing and strode quickly into Beacon, pulling her Scroll out and sending a quick, "Agents in Ansel were right, he came to Beacon. He's moving again, though, can't follow right now."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Snorting, Adam sent an order to come to Vale and close the Scroll in his hands, tapping it on his arm a few times before tossing the disposable thing aside and turning, dropping off the roof of the abandoned building and down into the alley below, landing with a muted thud beside two other Faunus in hooded clothing. One was a massive bear of a man, Banesaw.

The other was a new recruit, named Sera, bright red eyes and tail flicking about as she scanned the alleyway anxiously and whispered, "Anything worth the risk?"

"Fall and Arc are moving, soon. I don't know where to, but I have a few contacts in the Atlesian fleet that just left, and my agent in Vale knows the boy is after them." He turned, pulling a hood up to cover his head and a scarf to hide his face, he added, "Once we know where they are, we will take them and bring them before Sienna Kahn or Ghira."

"And if neither decides _our_ way is the right one?" Banesaw asked roughly, Adam chuckling in response.

"Then I will offer them to the White Fang, and lead them myself to what we all desire." His hand drifted down, to a thin and tattered ribbon hanging at his waist, barely three inches long. Sighing, he nodded to the two and ordered, "Spread out across the city, prepare to move when I give the order, and lie low for now."

They nodded and departed, Adam waiting a few moments before stepping out into the throngs of people along Vale's main boulevards. His thumb stroked the ribbon once more and he smiled beneath his scarf.

Revenge would be delicious and swift, as soon as he had the forces he needed to deal with those two and their power over the Grimm.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Beta Notes:

Ayyyyyyy! I'm back, finally finished school, I bet you guys are glad to get some superior edits ;)

P.S. For some reason Twisted doesn't put the discord invite links in the story so here it is: vHqu4V [take out the spaces]

As usual, stay tuned for next chapter, Voltegeist signing out

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Cadaver :**_

 **I hope some of Jaune's words displayed how** _ **not**_ **murder happy he is. And I made sure to spell out how murder happy it is reasonable to worry he might be as well, though that was already planned.**

 **That said, you can only push a guy so far before he hits 'Fuck it' and makes you into a fucking kebab.**

 _ **Emperor King Perby :**_

 ***Amazing**

 _ **Split Haven :**_

 **The** _ **iron**_ **y, you say?**

 _ **Perseus Pendragon :**_

 **#RomanDidNothingWrong**

 _ **Xager-The-Chaos-Kind :**_

 **Yeah, Jaune's powers are legitimately terrifying. Especially now, as pissed as he rightfully is.**

 _ **Night Shade Dawn :**_

 **Yup~**

 _ **Stone Cold :**_

 **Glad you enjoyed it~**

 _ **Kill Kill 123100 :**_

 **I intend to please, if possibly.**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **#RomanDidNothingWrong**

 _ **Cloth Slayer :**_

 **The fight will actually not come just yet, not until the next chapter. And gods below if that is going to take some PLANNING on my end. It also won't be the kind of battle you may be envisioning.**


	16. A Knight and Dealing With It

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **High Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction, alright?**_

 _ **I am creating a Discord server specifically for my writings and separate from the Temple Walkers Discord server. This way, Commissioners can keep track of their commissions directly without any worries or problems off FF or Archive, and can communicate to me directly. Just DM me and I will get you a link as soon as I can.**_

 _ **We now have our own house as well and, after some growing pains, uploads here and on YT will hopefully become faster and better, as well as more regular.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Getting back to Vale had been fairly easy with a Beacon licensed Bullhead and especially amid the chaos, though the fire was already well under control and on its way to being put out. Luckily, as many people noted, with surprisingly little Grimm attacking responders and rescue personnel, a fact noted by many as almost worthy of conspiracy theories. Some of which were already taking off, with moderate success, on tabloids Jaune had already seen listed as 'emergency releases.'

At his request, and using Cinder as a proxy, Salem arranged them a place to stay for a while so that they could form a proper plan to deal with Ironwood.

"Salem," Jaune sighed, looking at the _floor_ they had rented at the top of one of Beacon's nicest hotels, four penthouses the size of _regular_ houses separated by a wide hallway. "This isn't exactly what I _meant_ when I asked for a place for us to stay."

Even with the curtains drawn, the 'rooms' were all fur rugs, leather furniture, mahogany carved tables and paintings made too look grand and let the people staying there feel grand. The only way up was a set of three express elevators that went straight to the lobby, two on either side of the hallway with cards for each, that sat on one of the long tables in the hallway right now. Each of the penthouses looked the same, single floored with enough space for entire entourages to enjoy themselves with guests, kitchens, two full bathrooms, two bedrooms… Most people in Vale itself lived worse than this, and did so in contentment.

Each also had a dining area, and living room, both with large televisions and small refrigerators even now stocked with drinks of the very alcoholic persuasion, as well as various snacks. The living rooms each had a fireplace in the furthest out corner, probably for safety, and leather couches in a wide circle around a wide wooden table with a television hanging on the thick wooden walls, another mini-fridge full of drinks sitting under it.

"Then you should have specified, Jaune." Salem answered with a chuckle, the orb now open to air and floating beside him in the hallway, "I simply got us a private place where no one will come without announcing themselves, and with enough space for all of your companions to rest and for you to… Deal with them, I suppose. You can't ignore them for long, after all. Not without them rebelling against you."

"I'll talk to them." He sighed, running a hand through his hair, already dreading the conversation he knew was coming. "Where is Ironwood's fleet now?"

"A tenth of the way to Atlas, and making good time at that." She answered after a moment, probably needed to look through the eyes of the Grimm she had trailing the flotilla. "If you like it, I could simply have my great dragons sweep in to meet them. To the very last, they would meet their fates in the salt of the ocean. A good vengeance, at least to me."

"I don't have a vendetta against the soldiers, I just want Ironwood himself." Jaune responded quietly, chilled for a brief moment by the _temptation_ that using her dragons to wipe them out posed. "They didn't do anything to me, it wouldn't be right to hurt them. Not if I can help it, at least. They don't even know about any of this."

"Very few know about me, so that is to be expected." She agreed, "Do you intend to change that, by the way?"

"Would you care if I did?" He asked, looking at the Seer with a raised eyebrow. "Actually _care_ , I mean. I don't really think that it would pose you very many problems, but…"

"But people would panic?" She asked, chuckling darkly in her usual chilling way. "No, Jaune, they don't pose me any danger in knowing. Not any true danger, anyways. At worst they would start some asinine crusade, get their militaries decimated, and kill this iteration of me. Then they'd move on, not knowing I had resurrected. If the governments of the world didn't simply try to quash that information."

"Prevent the panic." Jaune nodded, sighing and pressing a fist to his forehead with a groan, "I guess they wouldn't want to risk losing their positions to people deciding to placate you directly, if they could. _Could_ they?"

"Not truly, and even if I allowed villages and Kingdoms to swear fealty to me, your kind tend to have unfortunately short memories, especially in regards to kindnesses." She seemed amused rather than offended, oddly enough, by that idea but Jaune let it go. He wouldn't understand whatever answer she offered even if he asked about that. Probably. "Your head must be aching terribly, surrounded by somany fretting people and your friends as well."

"I guess you _would_ know how that works." He sighed, nodding, "Yeah, kinda hurts a bit. Between everyone _else,_ and what happened to Roman, and the panic in the city, my head is splitting. Or feels like it, at least."

"I have instructed Watts to see to obtaining a new helmet for you. From what he has said to me, it should be a few more days yet before it can be made and sent to you. He's being forced to use contacts in Vacuo to make it, with Atlas' talks of closing their borders." Salem informed him, laying a tendril on his shoulder in what he was sure was meant to be a kind, maybe even reassuring, gesture but felt like a threat coming from a Grimm. "If you wish it, though it would strain me gravely, I can nullify your Semblance again."

"You're getting me a new… Thank you, Salem. I appreciate it a lot more than you might think." He snorted after a half-second of thought, shaking his head, "Actually, it makes sense. You can probably actually _sympathise_ with me dealing with all of this... Just _noise_ around me. Kind of weird, for the only thing that can actually manage to sympathise with me to be a _Grimm_ of all things."

"And do you want me to…?"

"I…" He gave the Seer a look, genuinely weighing the options for a long moment before he sighed and shook his head, "No, but thanks, Salem. I need the ability to talk to Neo, and make sure I understand my friends properly."

"That is quite manipulative of you, Jaune." Salem chuckled again, this time managing somehow to sound warm for once. "I must say, it is quite a change from your demeanor and attitude when we first met."

"Not to manipulate them, not at all, I just… This crap is so complicated, I need to head off misunderstandings right off the bat or shit gets bad. I just know it." He defended calmly, understanding the concern - if that is what Salem had, there - over the shift she thought she saw. "Your confusion _right there_ is an example of problems I want to get rid of. Assumptions like that could destroy this group. Maybe literally, you know, considering."

"Possibly." Salem agreed, tendril receding, "My offer remains open, of course, should you wish to come and take it." He nodded and turned to step away, but stopped when she added, "And forget not that once this is dealt with, you _are_ mine. I do not care who you spend your time inside of, or how many of them, but you will be mine."

He nodded and the tendril receded, the Seer turning to gaze out the window once again as he walked away. That wa sa problem that he wasn't sure if he was going to deal with. On the whole, Salem _had_ been straight with him, from day one almost. If she promised something, she seemed to do it, and that wasn't even just directed at _him_ as far as he was aware. Not that he had been able, or sometimes even _motivated_ if you went back far enough, to pay that much attention to it or even see it.

The first stop he decided to make was Ruby and the others, in their own room of course because as far as his senses told him, they were too nervous and unsure for anything else. Which was fair, and he had to remind himself that they had immediately chosen to come with him and help him, even if Winter had encouraged it.

Which was a conversation all on its own, with the android in tow.

Pushing open the door, he was met with five nervous, concerned faces, filled with worry and flowing with fears over what the hell came _next_ alongside thoughts about him, Salem, how she might be controlling him and more…

"Hello, Jaune Arc!" And there was Penny who cheered, waving her hand and sitting on a couch next to Winter, between her and the arm of the couch. Weiss sat on her sister's side, with Ruby next to her and then Nora and Ren as well. "How are you?"

Jaune hesitated for a second before he gave her a weak wave and sighed, "Hi, guys."

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked, of course the first to speak and completely centered around checking on him, "I heard what happened, your, um… you know, friend, Cinder? She explained it." " _As best she could, at least…"_

"Yes, Roman may not have been the best of people," " _Or decent even."_ "But he was always there for you, from what I understand, and you were close." Ren added, Jaune forcing himself to ignore the other young man's thoughts by force of will and a reminder that their being here was already a kindness, "My condolences for your loss, Jaune."

" _Our_ condolences." Nora corrected, gesturing around the circle of friends - plus Winter and Penny - in a circle with her finger, "We're all sorry for your loss. Trust me, Renny and I get it. Family isn't perfect, but you love 'em regardless. Kinda how it works, you know?" " _Even if they are massive dicks with a crime spree the size of their egos."_

"And I am sorry again as well," Winter offered, sitting next to her sister, and looking exhausted if not surprisingly happy. Most of which, he found when he looked, came from the younger Schnee next to her. Interesting. "For my part in things. I know it is a weak excuse, to be true, but I was merely following orders."

"I get it." He said in response, shrugging, "You were doing what you thought was right. I can imagine Ironwood didn't paint a very good picture of me, and you came around in the end, so… It's not fine, but you know what I mean."

"But…" Ruby paused, eyes closing as she took a breath and formed her thoughts, before she finally asked, "But, Jaune, as much as we understand how you feel… Are you sure about any of this? Working with Salem? We were supposed to have _killed_ her. You… Did you lie about that?" " _Because that is all that makes sense…"_ I need to know. We all need to know. My sister lost an _arm_ to her."

"I… We did, Ruby. We did, I promise, okay? It's just..." He sensed her doubts spike, and quickly explained, "But… She doesn't, you know, _stay dead_ when you kill her. She just… finds a new body, or makes one, it all depends on her I think. She's like Ozpin, in that way. She will just come back no matter how much you kill her. Or how hard. She might let you kill her again, if I ask her to."

"So our fight was for nothing, then, in the end." Ren sighed, shaking his head, "At least we can rest knowing that we tried." " _For all that might be worth, which is markedly little in the grand scheme of things."_ "Few in the world can claim to have even attempted to end the threat of the Grimm. Not in any honest or real capacity, at least."

"Real trendsetters, all of us." Nora half-heartedly cheered, sighing, "Not that it's a _fun_ trend, or anything."

"But… yes, Ruby, I'm sure." Jaune finally answered, the young Rose blinking in surprise, "Salem, for all her many faults, has always been honest when she's spoken to me. Always willing to listen to what I want, too, which is why that fleet is floating. She could knock it out of the sky over water, kill everyone on board."

"But you don't wish for that." Winter offered hopefully, clearly distraught at the mere idea of so many lives being lost. A sentiment echoed by everyone else in the room, even _Penny_ seemed to fret over the abstract numbers. "Otherwise, you would not have mentioned it the way that you did." " _Hopefully not, at least."_

"The only person I _want_ dead is Ironwood himself." Jaune explained, looking around the room and knowing he had to _sell this_. "I tried, you guys. So hard. Over and over, I let it go, but he kept trying to hurt me. He sent Winter to attack me, I'm pretty sure he had the Council of Vale pressure my father who almost lost the _village_ because of it, and then he killed Roman. All I ever wanted was to just… Just be left _alone._ But I couldn't have that. Because Ironwood wanted a fight."

"And now?" He continued, looking around at them, shaking his head with a bitter smile as his voice began to rise to a pained, angry snarl, "He _murdered_ someone, broke treaties to do it, and then ran. He's willing to endanger that entire _fleet_ rather than face me. He thinks I'm evil, serving Salem, so that means he is willing to have her wrath slam home. On Atlas. He's a coward, a murderer, a liar, and he will pay for every last thing he has done. And I will take it out of his _hide_."

"Even if it hurts other people?" Ruby asked, hands shaking in her lap, but eyes hard and watching him closely, "Are you willing to hurt innocent people, just for revenge? Is that how far you've gone?"

"He started this war, Ruby." Jaune reminded her, raising a finger, "Not me. Not even Salem, that was Ozpin back in the day. I wanted peace, and he attacked me over and over. What would you do if someone murdered Yang, right in front of you, for no reason? Worse, actually, for _wrong_ reasons."

"I-I don't know." She lied, and he knew it, giving her a sad but knowing smile.

"Yes, you do." He said simply, challenging her by tapping the side of his forehead twice, "I know exactly what you would do, you imagined it before you caught yourself. You'd hunt them down, and bring them to justice yourself. Now how do I do that to the general of the Atlesian Navy? Winter, will Atlas listen to a petition on this?"

"They… Would hear you, if you had the right backing, but he holds two seats on the Council itself. Any graces on their part would be feigned entirely, and he'd be exonerated." She explained quietly, grimacing, "He's too influential for anything else." " _Democracy at its finest…"_

"I won't get justice that way, Ruby." Jaune explained simply, shrugging his armored shoulders, "That isn't something I can accept. I can't live my whole life with a target on my back, just because of his stupid paranoia. I can't do it, and I can't subject my family to it. And now I have all of you to think about."

"We came with you." Ren filled in, nodding understandingly, "Even if you leave now, and do nothing to him, he will hold that against us." " _And if he was willing to violate international law to kill Roma…"_ Ren looked at Nora worriedly, mouth open slightly as the realization hit home, " _What are we compared to that?"_

"I can't risk that, either." Jaune sighed, looking around the room, "Yang lost her arm, Blake and Roman _died_ already, and now you are all at risk again... I will _not_ let that stand. None of you will be safe while that bastard breathes." And he wouldn't be satisfied, but he left that much unsaid. It wasn't needed. Instead, he said, "Tomorrow morning, I will have Cinder arrange transport while Salem gathers what she needs."

"What's your plan?" Ruby asked worriedly, swallowing while her eyes seemed to search him for something he didn't know, something in his face or eyes or maybe beyond. "I-I won't help you hurt innocent people, but… I can't leave my sister in danger. So… I just need to know… I can't be a part of hurting innocent people. I'd die first!"

And she would, he knew, smiling at her warmly. She'd stand there and let someone slide a knife right between her ribs before she laid a finger on an innocent. He admired that about her, how brave she was, and in this light, standing with her hands balled into fists and eyes hard, she was beautiful in a way. Beautifully pure and naive, in a lot of ways for both...

In another life, maybe, he thought with a small shake of his head.

"I don't want innocent people hurt, Ruby." Jaune assured her, "But you are mine, all of you. My friends are what is at risk. My team, my family, my friends, my allies… because of one man. One _coward_. One _murderer_ , masquerading as a hero. My plan is simple. I surround his fleet when it makes landfall with great, Grimm dragons, too far for them to march for Atlas, and then I wait."

"The Atlesian Fleet's fuel reserves can last around two days without refueling, once they cross the ocean between Sanus and Atlas." Penny offered helpfully, smiling brightly at being able to help as everyone looked to her, "The strategy would force them to land their craft, which would allow us to identify Ironwood and go for him directly."

"The least amount of innocent people get hurt that way." Jaune nodded, "It's the best I can think of short of just… Surrounding Atlas and holding it hostage with too many Grimm for them to face until they hand him over."

"It's the best idea I think we have at hand." Ren offered, sounding tired already in a way Jaune understood. "Unfortunate, yes, but the best idea we have still. If it works."

"It will." Jaune assured him, smiling bitterly, "That much, at least, I know for sure. The strength Salem can bring to bear could see the Kingdoms destroyed utterly if she actually wanted that."

"And what do we do after?" Nora asked quietly, the group by now settled well enough on the situation. "I don't think we can just… Go back to Beacon, like nothing ever happened. Not after all of this, we could barely really do it before."

"It's up to you." Jaune shrugged, sighing and turning to look at the door. "I still have to talk to Neo, though. So… I'll let you guys talk it out yourselves, okay?" He chuckled and added, quieter, "Been putting this conversation off way too long, and I need to… Deal with it, before I find another excuse to avoid it."

"We will let you know if we require you for anything." Weiss offered, sounding tired and weak in a way that actually worried him to an extent. "Deal with your… Friend?" " _At least I think they are just friends... "_

"Fiance, actually." He corrected nervously, the entire room suddenly warming with excited, sometimes naive thoughts as minds raced with ideas, expectations, surprised reactions and images. All of which made him chuckle, shaking his head, "We, uh, got together a month or two after she took me at Beacon. It was just us, for a while,upin Salem's castle, and we were scared, and it started out as just physical stuff… But you guys know the kind of guy I am. Once we started that, and with dealing with Salem, and Neo being the only real friend there… Kind of grew a mind of its own, and before we knew it, we were cuddling and… Stuff. And now, you know, we're here."

Weiss, surprisingly, was the first to speak, clapping her hands together and smiling, "Oh my Gods, that has to be the most romantic thing I have ever heard in real life!" Everyone looked at her, eyebrows raising in surprise, and the youngest Schnee coughed into her fist, "I, um, I just meant that it was quite romantic. The reasons they got together are… Cute, I suppose, and- All of you stop smirking at me!" " _Insufferable peons. Am I not allowed to enjoy a true romance?"_

Taking the moment when they finally broke, relaxing and teasing Weiss, Jaune turned and pulled the door open, slipping out quietly as they finally started to allow themselves some small kind of hope.

"You aren't going to enjoy yourself?" Salem asked coyly, waiting for him in the hall. When he shook his head, she clicked her tongue in a sort of annoyance, "Well you should know, Cinder has stepped out for a while. She asked I inform you she was gathering money from her contacts, and she would return within a few hours. In spite of me so politely informing her I am not, in fact, a _doorman_."

"And Pyrrha?" He asked, ignoring her annoyed sigh.

"With the harlot, oh hush Jaune I will call her what I wish." She snarked, when he gave her a sour look. After he sighed and shook his head, but didn't say anything, she continued, "As I was saying, the Mistralian is with your harlot, trying to keep her under control." After a few seconds, Salem added in a quieter, somehow subdued and almost _sympathetic_ voice, "It would appear that Roman was… quite dear to her. She is not taking it well, in any capacity."

"I'm going to go see her now, actually." He answered quietly, doing his best to maintain a straight, hard face in the face of the emotional wall that seemed to assault him from the other side of the door when he paid attention to it. Neo's emotions, he could tell, mixed with Pyrrha's anxiety and concern. "It… She'll be fine."

"As you say, I suppose it must be." Salem agreed, Seer turning and hovering away towards the last of the four rooms, that she had claimed as hers immediately upon the elevator letting them out on the penthouse floor. "Be careful, however, and know that I am here should you need a rest from your Semblance."

"I know how much that has to take out of you." Jaune called to her, quiet enough to not disturb Neo or Pyrrha. The Seer hesitated, turning to look at him, and he explained, "I would have to guess it is kinda like my ability to change people's minds. And that is exhausting, mentally."

"Indeed." She answered quietly, the Seer continuing on silently, "Enjoy your evening, Jaune. Come to me if you need to, but if you do not, let me rest through the evening. I am quite tired."

"Good night." He offered weakly as the door closed behind the creature, sighing after she'd left and scolding himself. "Good night? To the Queen of the fucking Grimm? Are you serious, Jaune, or just _crazy_?" Looking at the door, and who was behind it, he sighed and shook himself, "Well, hope a little of both ends up bein' the case."

As soon as he opened the door, he ducked under a plate hurled his direction without a second of reaction, catching another on his forearm plating and then shutting the door behind him as Neo _hurled_ herself at him bodily, Pyrrha scrambling to get up off the floor while Jaune wrestled with her. Small hands pounded on his head, hips wrapped around his waist in an embrace that once would have brought him joy and rushing blood.

Now, though, it let her swing their weight towards a table that - with her thrashing his head and chest weakly through his Aura - he couldn't evade. They fell, the small woman releasing him with her legs and then leaping,landing on his chest again as his back hit the floor and he gasped.

" _You used your Semblance!"_ She accused, hands braced to either side of his head and bright brown eyes, surrounded by red rings of pain and tear tracks running down her face, " _Against me! Why?"_

"You were hurting, so bad, and I couldn't handle it. I had to make decisions, though, and short of knocking you out by force…" He smiled apologetically, reaching up to lay his hands on her ribs affectionately like he always did when they were in this particular position, and waving at Pyrrha before she leapt to his protection. "I had to get us out of there. Make sure you were safe."

" _You mind controlled me."_ She accused again, thumping a fist against him as her own chest heaved, in grief not effort, before crumpling on top of him. She huffed when he wrapped his arms against her, sniffling, " _That bastard killed Roman."_

"And we're going to kill him for it." Jaune assured her, running his fingers through her hair soothingly while she trembled. Fear, pain, grief, anger, all washing around in her mind amidst an odd contentment she always felt there when he held her on top of him, letting her feel like she was the one in control, but still being held. "We'll catch him, and then he'll be all yours for however long you take."

" _I want to make him hurt."_ She whispered to him, shifting up his chest until she sat on it with his hands gripping her hips gently, her forehead resting against his, yes misting with tears but hard and pink regardless, " _I want to make it slow, make him scream and beg for it to be over. I want it so bad it hurts, right in my chest."_

"It's grief, too." He told her, rubbing small circles in the skin left bare on her hips without her jacket. "But we'll get him, I promise. And you can do whatever you want to him, I won't lift a finger to stop you. I promise."

" _I know."_ She sighed, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, " _I was so scared when you put me under… Scared I'd wake up in a cell, or worse, to your body laying on the ground."_

"I'm sorry." He said, waving Pyrrha towards the door and giving her a thumbs up to let her know it was fine to leave. She hesitated for a moment before leaving, closing the door quietly behind her as she went.

" _Never again. You understand?"_ She moved one of her hands to his cheek, thumbing it gently and then sliding it up to play with his hair, " _Never, ever, again. I don't ever want you to ever use your Semblance on me again. Not like that, at least."_

"Never again." He agreed, "I promise. Cross my heart, hope to die."

" _Good."_ She said, leaning down and pressing her lips to his gently, kissing him for sheer comfort rather than anything else. " _We don't have to leave for a while, right, Jaune?"_ He shook his head, and she pressed down against him, " _Then distract me. I can't deal with this all at once."_

Normally he would have argued,pushed her to grieve, but he knew Neo. Neo was a woman of vices, and with no one nearby to torture and not enough ice cream in the world to sate her either, that left one thing. So he let it go, letting her reach up to pull the shoulders of her and pulling away to say, "I love you."

She smirked, leaning down to kiss him again and thinking, " _I love you too, now fuck me into the ground for a while, okay? We'll be adults about this all tomorrow, but right now that's too much noise."_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Zenith Tempest :**_

 **Nah. Settin' up for the future.**

 _ **Xager The Chaos King :**_

 **You shall find out.**

 _ **Smokey panda :**_

 **Hey, man, if you ask nicely then he'll probably let you grab those horns for a ride.**

 _ **Gizmo Gear :**_

 **Because people suck.**


	17. Knight Before the Big Bad

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I am now, thanks to Supporters as listed above, stable and safe and working regularly on Fanfictions and an original, private project called Re:Programmed. Details**_ **will** _**be starting to come out within the next couple of months once I find an adequate animator.**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~!**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Jaune was, as always, the _second_ person in the building to be awake.

The first was a simple janitor, four floors below in a bathroom, whose thoughts and emotions invaded his dreams and shook him awake just as the sun broke over the walls surrounding Vale, orange light reflecting off glass buildings like fire. Shadows crawled across the ceiling above him as he did his best to put the thoughts below and the dreams of the woman next to him out of his mind, eventually turning to look at the woman there quietly and reaching out, running a finger along one of the myriad jagged lines on her back. Scars of her willingness to fight for him, to _die_ for him if necessary, the latter of which had been what she thought was going to happen as she leapt in that damned castle to protect him.

She shifted where she lay when his fingers ghosted across one of the eternally sensitive parts of the scar, curled up in a tight ball where she'd fallen asleep on the bed next to him a couple hours after they'd locked the door and gone to bed, and he withdrew. Slowly and carefully, to avoid waking her up, he got out of the bed and grabbed a pair of jeans. Pulling them up and walking to one of the windows that looked out over the city, looking as much at the buildings and roads as himself in the glass, he leaned against the window frame and sighed as his head rested against the cool metal.

Hard muscles, scars across his body - especially the more pronounced one on his side, still angry and jagged looking - and even stubble on his chin and long, shaggy hair almost to his shoulders. Had he changed so much, he thought as he scratched at the stubble and frowned. He could remember only a few of the scars, Cinder's stab wound the most prominent of them, and that was an oddly uncomfortable realization.

So many people had tried to kill him and his body showed that, but he had gone through it so much that he didn't even _remember_ most of them now, standing there. What did that say about him? Did it say _anything_?

This was the life Huntsman lived, he knew now. Well,maybe not _exactly_ , given his company, but fairly close he was sure. Fighting, killing, nearly dying... All normal, and with no laurels being handed out by kings, or wealthy businessman's daughters to save and get adopted. No real _heroics_.

At least, not in the sense Jaune had always viewed them.

He had always wanted to be seen as a hero, and now… Was he one? What _was_ he now, after everything and with the literal war _he_ was being forced to prosecute? How many more people would die because of him?

"Too damn many." He answered himself, eyes closing as he growled, his mind awash with his own anger, regret, pains and all those of the myriad people in the building now awake, either having woken up or come in for work. "All because people wouldn't leave me damn well _alone_. None of this is what I wanted… That matters, it has to."

" _What matters is what you choose to make matter."_ He started, looking to his side where bright pink eyes watched him, the woman having rolled over and curled back up where he'd lain, chin on her knees and blanket pulled up just high enough to hide the curve of her thighs under it. " _That's how life is for people. You decide what matters most and fight for it."_

"Roman taught you that?" He asked, turning so that his back rested against the support and crossing his arms while he looked at her.

" _No. You taught me that, Jaune."_ She answered, smiling coyly at him, " _That and a few other things. How many of them do I need to do to you for you to tell me what's wrong? Because I won't mind doing them, and you know that."_

"Going to interrogate me?" He asked, smirking at her and chuckling slightly, barely enough to make his chest shake.

" _Don't you know, Jaune?"_ Her smile was coy, now, one of the arms wrapped around her legs trailing to the top of the blanket and teasing it down slowly, until it showed just the slightest hint of her thighs, " _I'm a great interrogator, Jaune. I always get the answers I want, eventually."_

Jaune shook his head, smiling thinly, "You don't have to try and woo me into talking to you, Neo. Besides, how are you going to bribe me with something I can have almost whenever I want?"

" _Ruin my fun why don't you?"_ She pouted, wrapping her arm back around her legs and watching him closely for a few moments, " _You're upset at something, I can see that. Tell me what it is. Or else."_

"Or else what?"

" _I'll go wake the others up buck naked, maybe kiss a couple. I bet that young one, Ruby, would have a heart attack if I waltzed in with my tits out and gave her a big, fat kiss. The Schnee girl could use some de-stressing too, or maybe I could just have my fun with Pyrrha."_ Jaune sighed, knowing she was right, and shaking his head at the threat while she smirked almost viciously. " _So gonna tell me, or not?"_

"I just… Was thinking, about how much I've been through. How much I've done." His hand moved to the scar in his side and he grimaced as he looked to her, "I'm… A good guy, right? Like, I'm not some kind of villain, right? I always wanted to be a hero, and I don't know if that's what I am now. All the things I've done… I've _had_ to do them, at least most of the time, but that doesn't answer my question."

" _That question doesn't really have an answer, Jaune."_ Neo said with a simple shrug, sighing when his frown deepened and he was very clearly not happy with the answer. Pushing the blanket off of herself, she stood beside the bed and spread her arms to either side of herself, chest puffed out and hip cocked to accent her curves as best she could and smiling coyly at him like she always did." _Am I beautiful, Jaune?"_

"I don't understand-" He cut himself off, not because of how she looked, he'd seen that enough, but because of her glare. "Yes. I think you're beautiful, Neo. In a way no one can possibly match."

" _And now?"_ She asked,turning around and showing off the massive, ugly scar on her back, marring the perfect flesh there. Even with her behind bare to him and her long, toned legs as well, and her hip cocked while she looked over her shoulder at him, he understood what she meant even before she explained. " _I know you do, you spend enough time behind me in bed that you can't mind too much. Do you think every guy would feel that way, though?"_

"I… No, a lot of people would be turned off by it." He answered, smiling apologetically at her.

Turning back around and smiling forlornly, she added, " _And what about my personality? I am a sadist, and you know that. You accept it. But how would anyone else see someone scarred like me, who can't even speak to them, and who gets her jollies off by cutting people, torturing them, and then killing them?"_

" _Beauty, morality, pain and pleasure, all of this is just perspective, Jaune."_ She continued, smile turning almost feral, but mixed with enough pride and confidence to make it something else Jaune couldn't place. " _You may think I'm beautiful, and I mean of course you do because I am, but do you think anyone in that room over there would call me that? And you might accept my personality and my… Tastes, but do you think they would? Or that they even do, right now?"_

"No." He finally answered, after a long moment of silence, Neo staring back at him before she let her arms drop and nodded. "So all this is just… perspective?"

" _Yep."_ She answered, taking several long steps to close the distance between them and resting her forehead against his chest comfortably. " _Hug."_ Sighing and smiling, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, " _You're a good guy, Jaune. Just in a bad place, and you have to make rough calls. Do you think you're doing your best?"_

"Yeah, I… I think I am." He answered quietly, pressing his face into her hair and just breathing, enjoying having her so close and safe. Even if it was only for a moment, he knew she was safe, and his friends were too, and that let him relax. Then he added, "But is that the same as doing what is right?"

" _No."_ Neo answered honestly, shuddering and wrapping her arms around him even tighter, " _But if you only did what was right by a normal person's opinion, you'd snap my neck right now and drop all of this. Then you'd work with that magical midget at Beacon and try and off Salem."_

"You know I won't do any of that." He assured her, rubbing small circles in her back comfortingly. Smirking, he added, "Where else would I get a girl as beautiful as you genuinely wanting to be anywhere near my bed?"

" _You have three of them in there."_ Neo chuckled quietly, Jaune huffing in amusement past her ear. She pulled away, looking up at him with nervous, pale white eyes and a tremor on her lips. " _I'd let you do it, you know. If you wanted. It would let you be free of all this."_

"The only thing I want is you and me, safe in our own home, with our own family." He said quietly, reaching up to lay his hand on the back of her head. "I may have my concerns about how we get there, but as long as we do get there I will get over it. I… I still want to be a hero, but I want _this_ ," he wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him and up, forcing her to stand on her toes and bringing him close enough that all either could see was each other's face, "to be happy. The rest is just… Just noise."

" _Then stop second guessing yourself, pick me up, and kiss me."_ Neo demanded with a smirk, Jaune doing just that by shifting both hands to her rear and using it to pull her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist and rest her hips on his, turning to push her against the wall and pressing his lips against hers, sliding a hand to her throat possessively while she continued, " _We have each other. Fuck everything else if it tries to take that, yeah?"_

Pulling away and pressing kisses along her jaw, Jaune couldn't argue, instead saying, "We have time. Right?"

" _Yeah. We have time."_ She answered, letting him push away from the wall and carry her to the bed. He laid her down gently, as always he was so gentle with her unless she asked him not to be, and she added as he pulled back to look down on her and decide what he wanted to do, " _Be quick. I don't want any warmups right now. I just want you to feel better, okay?"_

"I love you." He said first, Neo smiling at him and laying her arms above her head.

"You t-too." She forced out, Jaune smiling at the actual words and leaning down to capture her lips again, this time heavier and with more demand behind them.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

When the duo finally left the room half an hour later, it was to meet Cinder waiting in the entr area by his door, leaning against the frame with her eyes closed patiently. She smiled when she saw him, looking relaxed and refreshed rather than the mess he had the day before, and said, "Good morning, Master. I trust you slept well?" " _If you did much sleeping."_

"I slept quite well, Cinder." He answered, looking her up and down curiously. She'd traded out her dress for a pair of fitted jeans and a black shirt that hugged against her skin, with a denim jacket over it, bandages wrapped around her left hand and probably more of the arm under the long-sleeved jacket, as well as part of her bare midriff below her belly button where the shirt ended, and he asked, "What happened?"

"I went into the industrial districts, pressed a few favors, collected a few old earnings I left lying around. Some people didn't like how aggressive I was being, and… Opposed me." " _With guns, and knives."_ "My clothing was damaged in the fighting. I sought a replacement that was suitable." She shrugged, as though it hadn't even been a consideration. And it might not have been.

In fact, Jaune was pretty sure she only explained it because he asked.

"You're all bandaged up, Cinder. What happened out there?" He asked quietly, Neo leaning against the wall behind him and watching him in amusement while Cinder fidgeted nervously. "Are you okay?"

"I am healthy, Master." " _Enough to be useful, at least."_ She answered quietly, "I'm just a bit... cut up, that's all. Entirely my fault, and well on its way to healing already, I promise." Perking up, and in a more commanding voice, she added, "More importantly, everything I needed I got, once people were a bit more willing to work with me." " _Or too dead to stop me."_

"I…" He sighed, deciding against pushing her any further on what _probably_ didn't really matter in the end seeing as she was here and distinctly more alive than he was willing to bet her opponents were, and instead said, "Just, did you get what we needed then? Or what did you get?"

"Ammunition, three fast-moving airships that can catch up with the Atlesian fleet fairly reliably, three pilots I can trust to do their jobs up to the point we fly alongside the great Grimm Dragons." " _A reasonable point for anyone to turn against us, much less wish to leave a job."_ She explained, continuing on quickly, "I also secured ammunition, food, water, spare weapons' parts, and Lien to purchase whatever else I failed to attain as an aside. We shouldn't have anything to worry and, in a few hours of work, everyone involved should have enough Dust, ammunition and Aura supplements all to accomplish the mission before us."

" _Seems like she thought of everything."_ Neo added, Jaune nodding as amusement scorched through her, " _Ask her to get us condoms, too, since she's shopping for everyone anyways."_

"No." He groaned, sighing and shaking his head while Neo snickered and Cinder's brow arched curiously. "I am not having Cinder spend _her_ Lien on-on _that_ , Neo, okay? I just... We can get some at some point on our own, alright?"

" _I want some of the banana ones."_ She offered, making Jaune actually flush. Something which drew another snort of mute laughter and more amusement from Neo, as well as confusion from Cinder, " _Oh my Gods, you are actually blushing! I can't believe that you, after literally_ just _doing me, are blushing because I mentioned flavored condoms."_

"Master what is-"

"Nothing!" He answered suddenly, smiling widely - too widely, he knew Cinder thought - and pushing past her towards the door to the room everyone else was suing, where he also knew they were milling about, thoughts numb blurs of ammunition, metal, food and the normal thoughts of maintenance. Absently, and in the hopes of derailing the prior conversation, Jaune asked, "Did you give them all the stuff already? I want to be gone by tonight."

"Yes, Master, I gave them everything and instructions to get ready as soon as possible as well." " _Not that waking up these brats was an easy task."_ "I did so while you and Mistress Neo were…" " _Sleeping together."_ "Indisposed." She explained, reaching out to grab his forearm when he reached for the doorknob, mostly to escape _that_ line of thought again, "But, Master, there's something you should know."

"About?" He asked, giving Neo a meaningful glance that she knew meant she needed to get serious. The small woman caught his eyes and the look, blinking white and pink eyes to brown and pink and then nodding as she brought herself under control. "Is something wrong?"

"The White Fang, Master." Cinder started, grimacing at the memories _that_ brought to the fore, "They are in the slums and the dock-district, recruiting, stealing and the general kinds of thuggery they are known for. But some are acting stranger than that. Some are said to be hosting a protest in three day's time."

"A… protest?" Jaune asked, surprised at the information and glancing to Neo. "Do they still _do_ actual protests? I was pretty sure it was mostly just rallies, riots, and attacks now."

Neo just nodded, looking at Cinder in a prompt to explain, and the half-Maiden did so after a moment's delay to gather her thoughts, "Yes, Master, they generally do stick to that track. Just like they generally fly their red symbol, to signify their willingness to fight. But while I was out there, I saw that symbol flying _and_ their symbol of blue. They're... fragmenting, for some reason. Even though, by all my knowledge, none of their actual leadership has died, or anything to that effect." " _The Belladonna girl is the only one important who died, and she was only even important for her name."_

"Her parents or something led the White Fang, right?" He asked, Cinder nodding simply in anwer. "Is it possible her dying to stop a terror attack like that might have, I don't know… Spurred some people to try and revive the White Fang the way it used to be?"

"If it did it wouldn't have come to the point of what amounts to a civil conflict among them, not yet at least. It's too soon for that. We'd likely have a year at the least before it came to a head." " _Simply mustering them for my own ends took weeks and months, and that was a single cell."_ Cinder grimaced and inclined her head in apology, shame echoing off of her and into Jaune weakly, and the blonde paused. "I apologise, I didn't take the time to gather any information on it. I felt it more important to get my work done and return." " _A mistake, perhaps. Hopefully a forgivable one."_

" _Something has to be going on, then."_ Neo added, Jaune as always translating for her in lieu of something better. " _The White Fang are mostly fanatical idiots, a few thugs, and then the commanders. The little bit of them that's rest is all leftovers from the Faunus War."_

"It's fine, Cinder." Jaune said quietly, smiling reassuringly at her and reaching for the knob again, "It isn't our problem, dealing with the White Fang. I'm sure that between the Kingdoms and Ozpin, anything they try will get shut down. But..." He sighed, shaking his head, and added, "Go get rest after this, and then tonight see if you can find out why that is happening."

"Are you intending to intervene?" She asked.

"No, but I want to know what's going on." Jaune shrugged, "I'm very, _very_ done with getting surprised by things weeks after the fact, when I could have found out. Can you handle this?" She nodded but something about her emotions felt off and Jaune sighed, "Neo, can you help her? I know you worked together before."

" _As long as you know everything that my information gathering almost always entails."_ Neo answered, Cinder grimacing at the idea of Jaune not trusting her. Which wasn't the case, and he'd have to have that conversation later he was sure,but Neo's next sentence occupied his attention too quickly. " _Usually involves a dick coming out, maybe some tits, and then me cutting people a bit if that doesn't work."_

"I… Didn't need to know that, Neo." She smirked and shrugged, and Jaune groaned, "Just… I trust you not to do anything you don't need to. And Cinder," he started, looking to her, "I trust you too, to keep an eye on her. But I'm _not_ risking one of my people on a whim of mine. Don't take that as a failing. It isn't. I just… I have to be careful."

"I understand, Master." " _Especially after Roman."_ He grimaced and she returned the gesture, murmuring an apology and pushing ahead awkwardly, "Mistress Neo, I would recommend you get some good sleep ahead of time. And food." " _Rather than junk food and sex. No offense intended, Master."_

Everyone in the room paused, a mix of emotions and thoughts washing over Jaune from them as the trio entered for a moment, before returning to their quiet work. Ren and Ruby were reassembling their weapons on sheets in front of the door, while Weiss carefully measured out Dust amounts and filled vials, Myrtenaster on the table across the room and Nora did pushups behind her. Pyrrha, in the kitchen sitting patiently on a stool with the full knowledge she was ready for whatever came, simply smiled at him and waved with Winter sitting next to her, equally content and simply waiting for the next step. Both veterans of combat of different kinds that brought experience that, itself, brought a lesson.

They'd be ready or they wouldn't, and then it wouldn't be a problem anymore, and there was nothing they could do more.

Taking a breath, Jaune said, "Cinder got us what we needed. We'll be leaving tomorrow, around noon, to catch up with the Atlesian fleet. If _anyone_ wants out, then the door is open. I personally won't judge a single person for leaving, this is… This is a step or, you know, _twelve_ beyond what anyone here is comfortable doing, so-"

"Jaune Arc, everyone here knows what is coming and has made our peace with it, or we will simply leave." Weiss interrupted suddenly, surprising Jaune and drawing a chuckle even as he reached an arm out to stop Cinder coming to his defence. She barely spared him a glance, actually looking somewhat content and even sparing him a thin smile, mind distinctly lacking in anything of note to hear. "We are all adults here. You don't need to give us some rousing speech to rally us like in a movie or two that we all have seen."

"The thought is appreciated, though, Jaune." Ren added tonelessly, sparing him a glance and smiling somewhat apologetically. "We all have work to do, so please, leave us to it. We can handle this." " _Hopefully, at the very least."_

Raising his eyebrow, he gave Neo an amused glance, and said, "Well… Cinder has Lien and ammunition, as well as extra supplies for your weapons, so feel free to ask her for whatever you need. Alright?"

After everyone called their affirmatives or, in Nora's case, simply grunted mid work-out, Jaune turned and walked around them towards the kitchen, nodding to Pyrrha as he pulled open the door to the refrigerator to find _something_ to eat. Preferably with meat.

He was halfway through assembling a sandwich made of every piece of turkey and cheese he could find, and handing Neo anything sweet he could find, when Pyrrha asked, "Are you ready for all of this?"

Sighing, the blonde shook his head and said, "Not really, but kind of the life I live now, you know?" He shrugged, feeling her disquiet, and added, "Just have to keep moving forward. And that's just… Just the way it is."

"Yeah." Pyrrha agreed, nodding beside him. "Do you need anything from me?"

"No-" He blinked, smiling and changing his answer, "Yeah, actually. Would you mind working with Cinder and Neo on gathering some information tonight?" Intrigued, Neo actually paused mid-bite into a candy bar, to look at him, "The White Fang are being strange and I want to know what is going on."

"If you wish it." " _Even if I would rather not…"_ Standing she rolled her shoulders, "I shall return to bed, then. I need my rest before going out."

"You both rest up too, Neo, Cinder." He said as the redhead left, taking a long breath, "Be careful out there, and let me know what you find. But don't take _any_ risks you don't need to. This is just me being curious, after all. We have much more important things to deal with."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **A bit shorter than the norm, but honestly, a needed segue into the next chapter and all I could manage given events. Mainly centered around my sister's kid, and the help they keep asking for in keeping it calm, and my own poor time management around that. Apologies for both.**_

 _ **Curse me, being good with babies.**_

 _ **And curse little Loki being so damn cuddly.**_

 _ **Anyways, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading and look forward to more as soon as I can get on it. Next chapter might be a bit coming, though, given the situation I just detailed. Apologies.**_

 _ **Another issue with all of this was needing to build up the next arc of problems to deal with, and involved Jaune in a somewhat sensible way, and build out the back lying issues. As well as the preparation something like what they intend to do - penning in and assaulting the Atlesian military like this, even a minor fragment of it - as well as rounding out characters while also not simply reiterating previous statements from themselves at each other.**_

 _ **Anyways, uh, cheers?**_

 _ **~ Twisted**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Csad21 :**_

 _ **Shit tends to escalate when you off folks. The original story was Mind Games.**_

 _ **CJ Hoax :**_

 _ **Sorry, I just have to tease you~**_

 _ **Blaseingfire :**_

 _ **I treat characters like people in real life. No one realizes, in the moment, their loved one is a monster. Not really, anyways. So him hating Ironwood for literally doing what Roman**_ **and** _**Neo both did in the past is well within what a normal person would do. Most times, you have to be**_ **truly** _**evil to get your closest loved ones to call you a monster.**_

 _ **As for him getting with Neo… A combination of a pretty face, people that actually offered him a hand out of the mess he was in, and Stockholm saw to that. Plus, you know. Reader demand.**_

 _ **Gizmo Gear :**_

 _ **I see it. It's where I draw my inspiration from, actually.**_

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 _ **#RomanDidNothingWrong**_


	18. A Knight's Justice

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I am now, thanks to Supporters as listed above, stable and safe and working regularly on Fanfictions and an original, private project called Re:Programmed. Details**_ **will** _**be starting to come out within the next couple of months once I find an adequate animator.**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~!**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

When night finally came, the trio stepped into the elevator, stretching awake as the small metal box descended the building's height slowly, Cinder starting, "Pyrrha, Mistress Neo and I have worked together before. So we both know what to do, when and where to do it, and how. If you have any questions, now is the time."

"And if you want to leave, this is the time for that too." Neo typed out on her Scroll, a mechanical voice sounding out each word quietly and mechanically. "No one in this crew does what they don't want, so if you got cold feet and want out, last call for it. Otherwise you're stuck in our little shindig for the rest of the night."

"Jaune asked me to be here, so I am." She responded simply, too prideful in herself to complain. Or perhaps too loyal to Jaune. One of those two, at least she was sure of that much. "I don't care what we do, or how we get to what Jaune wants. Be it brawling, bribing, or spreading my Dust damn _legs_."

She gave Neo a pointed look, the small woman smirking at the barb knowingly, "I don't care. It is his need which drives my actions. His words, my swords. His goals, my everything. Now may we all please get on with this?"

After a moment, the muted mechanical voice at Neo's behest spoke again, "They grow up so fast, Cinder." The older Maiden rolled her eyes, giving Neo a reprimanding look with an eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip, and Neo added, "Oh fuck off. That was funny."

"Yes." Cinder answered Pyrrha, nodding slightly, "Let's get on with this."

During the day Vale was known as a city of colors. Bright, happy people walking, talking, working, all in a city with banners flying stores open to the air if the sun shone, and shining like the metropolis it, at the end of the day, truly and completely was. Guarded by massive walls and the troops on them, the citizens lived bright lives under the warm sun and grey skies alike, laughing and walking the streets. Though bare of many of the soldiers that had walked its walls, thanks to Ironwood's still - publically, at least - unexplained departure of the city, and his forces with him.

Even Faunus, in most walks of the city and welcome in most - if not all - stores, lived brighter and happier lives than they could have hoped in the Kingdom in centuries past, or even now in some places around the world. Occasionally you could even see a few White Fang walking the streets, making a point of their presence and ignoring the cops tailing them with their bright blue tabards on full display and warm bands to match. Making a show of themselves and the fact that they, unlike their brethren, meant no harm. Some even offered hands to anyone who looked to need them, from the elderly to children or even to informing officers of trouble in the area.

At night, though, things changed drastically, and in some cases even violently.

The banners that stores hung to advertise,or celebrate, were furled and brought in, doors locked and barred, security systems and their warning signs on and made visible enough only the blind could miss them. Tables, chairs and everything else were brought in, and in a set few neighborhoods where no one else would brave the streets without a badge and a gun, or Aura and the training to use it, and the seediest of Vale's population came out to play. In the Industrial and Shipping districts, that meant White Fang. And a _lot_ of them, of both colors and creeds, and in some places that meant fighting. Very rarely, though, of course, did the fighting happen in any numbers that mattered. And if it did, very rarely did it happen in _public_.

Cinder's foot slammed into the metal door, age and neglect sending it flying a foot away from the wall and crashing to the ground with a heavy metal crunch as she sauntered into the White Fang safehouse, one of several she herself had made use of. A half-dozen grunts rose to meet her, drawing blades from their waists warily. When two sets of heels clicked into the room, though, they seemed to hesitate at the sight of the three women in front of them.

"I thought as much." Cinder smiled, summoning a long and straight sword in her right hand and flames that engulfed her left, "Not very keen on fighting me on my own, much less with Neopolitan and Nikos at my back. Are you?"

One of them, either a brave or stupid young woman with only one of her antlers, raised her sword and shouted, "For the White-"

Pyrrha's shield slammed into her stomach so hard she doubled over it and staggered away, blade clattering on the floor in favor of clutching the rim and staggering. In a flash of crimson and bronze, Nikos was beside her, spear spinning in her and and sweeping her legs out from under her, a hand encased in flames as her shield forced the woman down with enough force that her startled and pained cry became a choke, the spear-point tickling her chin and Pyrrha's heel landing between her modest breasts as she recalled her shield.

"I probably broke a couple of your ribs." Pyrrha said quietly, looking down at her with her spear in a single hand, the haft resting against her shoulder. Smiling apologetically, she added, "Please, don't try to do anything. You might puncture a lung, or I may need to hurt you more."

"S-Stupid, Human…" She chuckled, the voice wet sounding as she forced a smile through gritted teeth, "Who the hell do you think you are? Coming in here is a death sentence for you."

"I doubt you're in a position to threaten." Cinder scoffed, looking down at the woman as the other White Fang soldiers backed away. Smirking, she held out her flame-wreathed hand and simply said, "Simply answer our questions and we will leave. No fuss, no harm. Refuse, and I start using your comrades as candles."

Nervously, the five exchanged glances, before one took a step towards the raven-haired Mistralian. This one Neo dealt with, her rapier shooting through the air and embedding in his legs.

"Son-of-a-bitch-" His cry was cut off, free hand clutching his leg around the blade, as Neo's legs wrapped around his head.

The man staggered, swinging the red sword into her side several times while Neo smiled and slammed her fists into his head until, with awet cracking sound, she kicked off of the back of the man's shoulder with a foot and snapped his neck, flipping off of him as he fell and landing, ending her display with a small bow, her arms to either side behind her. Like a performer on a stage.

"Neo, please." Cinder chided gently, the woman's almost feral smirk turning on the oldest in their group as she smiled, her hand flaring brighter, "I said they would be a _candle_ , not a rodeo. And besides, I haven't even _asked_ anything yet."

Shrugging, Neo straightened and stepped towards the corpse, yanking her rapier free while Cinder asked, "Now then, my Ma- Employer," she amended quickly, voice never losing that commanding edge that met her sultry pur, "wishes to know why the White Fang are acting so… Strangely. I noticed that there seem to be quite a lot of Faunus wearing the _old_ insignia and colors, and even fighting your ilk."

"Traitors." The woman beneath her fellow Mistralian spat, hands wrapped around Pyrrha's ankle. "After that traitorous snake, Belladonna, died her parents have been up in arms. The division runs deep, but they'll be rooted out quick enough."

"So the Belladonna's are fighting, in their daughter's honor?" Pyrrha asked the woman underneath her, snorting at the idea. "I had always heard they were doe with the spectacle of being in the public eye. I suppose Blake's loss could galvanize them."

"What does Taurus plan to do about it?" Cinder demanded, the woman below her clamming her mouth shut at the question almost instantly. Sighing, Cinder thrust her hand at a small woman with rabbit ears edging towards the door. Her scream died quick enough, the flames bursting around her head probably rendering her unconscious far before killing her, and she reiterated, "What is Adam Taurus planning to do about the schism?"

Again, the woman held her tongue, trembling under Pyrrha, and the champion closed her eyes as another White Fang member was targeted, raising his hands and pleading, "N-No,wait, I just joined, I'm not-"

"Please, just tell us what we want to know." Pyrrha asked mutedly, looking into the deer-Faunus' eyes through the holes in her mask. "None of us take pleasure in this needless killing." A rock skittered down her armor and Pyrrha amended with a growl edging her voice, "Except her, of course."

The woman looked at her two remaining comrades for a long second before she seemed to deflate, "I will answer, if you swear to leave us after." Pyrrha nodded, and the woman sighed, "Taurus is planning a move against them sometime next month, if nothing is done. Sienna is trying to gather her own support to depose the Belladonnas. I doubt either of their plans will stay, though. Nothing is concrete, not yet."

"That is all we wanted. Thank you, for your cooperation." Cinder said, shaking her head and nodding before, with a flick of her wrist, the other two exploded in flames. Surprised, Pyrrha took two steps away from the downed woman and held out a hand towards the dead terrorists, and Cinder added, "Neo, the leader?"

"You fucking Humans, you swore that- Ack!" Pyrrha turned to see Neo slam her foot into the woman's head, stunning her before she put her neck between her heel and the rest of her foot and twisted, a dull snapping sound echoing in the otherwise quiet room.

"But…" Pyrrha shook her head, looking to Cinder, "Why? We got what we required, there was no need for that."

"Corpses don't tell any stories, Nikos." Neo's Scroll sounded out, Cinder nodding at the statement.

"If we left them, then they would report on our presence. The three of us, unfortunately, are known quantities in the world. If anyone knew we were asking about this, that would connect to Jaune, and then _he_ would be in danger." She waved a hand at the corpses, their bodies igniting fully to the last aside from the leader, and then jerked her head towards the door. "No trails. Now come, we need to verify this with some members of the _other_ White Fang. Neo, bring the corpse. We plant that at one of the White Fang safe houses and they won't even think of him. Or us."

Swallowing her distaste, Pyrrha sighed and nodded, following the other two without hesitation. "If it helps Jaune, then so be it. They were, after all, all terrorists. They can't erase that as easily as changing their clothes' coloring."

But even still, it left her feeling disquiet and uncomfortable. Perhaps it was simply that this was her first time being involved in this. Maybe Jaune even wanted her on this one to make other things, harder ones probably, easier on her?

It would be _just_ like him to be so thoughtful about even something like this.

When they finally returned to the hotel penthouse, Pyrrha was exhausted in a way she couldn't quite gauge. It had only been a scant six hours at best, yet she felt as weary as if she had instead fought a championship tournament and barely scraped through the final bout.

"It can be quite exhausting for even the most enduring of people, what we did last night." Cinder said quietly, smiling weakly at her in an effort to convey some kind of comfort. Even if she was rather bad at it. "Your help was appreciated, though. As was your willingness to go along with our orders."

"Jaune needs to be safe-guarded." She shrugged, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair back behind her ear absently. "The last thing that he needs is a bunch of terrorists hounding after him. That much is obvious."

"Indeed." Cinder agreed simply, nothing else really left to say on the subject, the door sliding open quietly as the three tired women stepped out. "We should take the time left to rest up again, before we head for the landing area. And then on, towards Atlas."

"Goodnight, then." Pyrrha inclined her head, stepping past the older women and pushing into the room where everyone else was, murmuring a quiet, "Hello, Winter." Before the door clicked shut and cut off the rest of it from the remaining two's hearing.

"Did pretty well, for a total virgin at this." Neo quipped through her Scroll, looking up at Cinder with a raised eyebrow. "What do you think? She did pretty well, yeah? Didn't make a fuss about killin' 'em, fought when we needed her to too. Whole nine yards."

"She did well." Cinder acknowledged, nodding to the smaller woman with a thin smile, "Get some rest, Lady Neo. We've much to do later today, after all, and it would not be useful for you to be exhausted."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Master." Cinder nodded politely as the door closed behind her, Neo laid up on the bed with every pillow in the world -or at least the penthouse level, probably - stacked up to rest her legs on at the end of the bed, her umbrella resting against the bed by her head, "Everyone is ready as they are able to be, and I have reconfirmed our craft to be waiting for us on the roof of this building."

"I understand. How did your evening go, then? Find anything worth mentioning?" He sighed, checking his armor again and mentally trying to shake off the jitters he was feeling. "Anything useful, I mean?"

"I…" " _You're nervous? But why? You've done as much as this far too often to be afraid like this."_ He stiffened, looking at her, and she blanched, standing straighter and quickly saying, "Yes, Master. I found out that, with the death of their daughter, the Belladonnas are moving again. From what those on both sides said, they are acting in what they feel is the best way to honor their daughter's sacrifice. Or what they interpret as it, at least, since so few know the truth of things fully." " _The truth you know."_

"I see." Jaune sighed, "Thank you, Cinder."

"Of course, Master, I-"

"I'm not nervous, you know. I mean, I am but, you know, not because _I_ am nervous." He gestured with a nod of his head at the wall and, beyond it, the rest of their little group. " _They_ are nervous, and you know I'm basically an emotional sponge. Their emotions are infectious."

"I meant no offence, Master." Cinder whispered, head bower politely and eyes closed almost reverently. Like she was speaking to a god, he thought with no small amount of displeasure at both the idea, and that _he_ was the god in that scenario. "I was… I was merely concerned for you, that is all." " _If anything should get to you, this is it, after all."_

"I know, Cinder. You always have my interests on your mind, regardless of what's going on." He nodded, taking his sword from the counter to his penthouse's kitchen and strapping it on, adjusting it a bit before resting his off hand on the pommel and turning to her, "I didn't want you to worry while we're out there." He gave her a smile, inclining his head towards her politely, "You do that enough already, Cinder. Thank you."

"I-I see." " _That smile...Oh."_ She stammered, actually flushing amusingly enough before she coughed and turned towards the door, not missing Neo's smirk as she made her way towards it, "I shall see to the final preparations, then. Please, Master, come to the roof when you're ready to depart."

" _That was adorable."_ Neo snarked, chuckling once the woman had gone and the duo was alone entirely. " _Had to give her the proverbial head pat, did you? Stoke her flames a bit just before the fight?"_

"She deserves some praise, after everything." He shrugged, his armor shifting quietly at the action. Sighing, he added almost tiredly, "After what I did, I can at least make her happy in her service. Show her some respect, treat her right, that kind of thing. Not like it hurts me or anything like that."

" _Still beating yourself up?"_ Neo asked, stretching her legs above her and then kicking them towards her head, rolling off the bed and onto her hands and then springing off of them over the bed towards him, landing effortlessly and smiling in satisfaction, " _Brothers and Dust, it is so nice to be able to do that again."_

"No, I'm not beating myself up. And it's nice to see your acrobatics back up to par, was worried for a bit there that you might not be recovered in time." She gave him a _very_ pointed look, and he quickly added, "Not that I would have made you stay behind if you weren't, of course. This is too important. I need you at my side for it."

" _Good boy."_ She smiled, patting his armored chest as she stepped past him and hopped up onto a stool behind him, " _I'm glad you're over all that, with Cinder, though. I was kinda worried you'd never get past it."_

"Let's get going, Neo." He said, the woman giving him a curious look but following him without any real comment towards the door.

A short elevator ride, itself barely a minute given their own location in the building, saw them to the roof where the two craft Cinder had gotten them all were waiting, one already off the roof and hovering nearby expectantly, nearly silent aside from a gentle thrumming sound. Like normal Bullheads, it had two large wings with large turbines at the end, and a smooth, sloped belly where its 'cargo' would rest, leading up to the cockpit.

 _Unlike_ normal Bullheads, though, its wings also sported a secondary set of smaller turbines nestled in the corner of the connection between wing and body, and it lacked the sliding side-doors that most also hand. It was also shorter by nearly a foot and sleaker, longer rather than tall and bare of any weapons aside from three barrels protruding from the nose under the cockpit, which itself was also slightly smaller than normal with dark tinted windows. Painted a dark blue, likely to blend better with the sky, it looked like a Bullhead should but with that slight difference that somehow shifted it entirely.

"A military interceptor and dropship." Cinder explained, standing near the elevator with Pyrrha at her side, when she saw him. "Fast enough that it can catch up to almost anything, but only lightly armed and armored. Not suitable for situations with hostile Grimm." " _Luckily, our trump card takes that problem off the table fairly instantly."_

"I like them. They look really, really cool." He admitted, for the shortest moment in his life a kid again, looking at these cutting edge craft and knowing what they did and for whom. It vanished a second later, though, and Jaune asked, "Where is Salem's Seer? Already on the ship?"

"Yes, hidden in a small crate. It was her idea, to avoid rousing suspicion from the pilots when an actual Grimm boarded the ship." " _Which I'm glad she considered, for I certainly neglected to."_ Cinder gestured to the craft with a hand, adding, "We should board, Master. We've a long way and these ships can't hold much fuel. It would not do to waste any with them idling in the air as they are." " _Not that Watts couldn't afford the fuel."_

"Did my helmet ever come?" He asked, moving towards and then up the ramp with the women in tow behind him. Instead of answering, Pyrrha just plucked a small box from one of the racks lining the roof, handing it to him with a murmured, "Thanks, Pyr."

Opening it, he looked inside and smiled in spite of himself. The helmet was much like his old one, with a Mistralian design. This one, though, was painted a coolblack like his armor's undercoating, edged in red and with silver chainmail hanging down around the entirety save the face, with extra loose steel hanging and a small hook just inside the face of the helmet to attach it like a war veil. The eyes and the opening slit down the front of the mask for him to breathe were edged in dull bronze rather than red, and a strange ridge-like pattern surrounded the crown of it in the same dull bronze.

"A crown?" He asked, running a thumb over it gently and looking to Cinder.

"After today, Master, a crown would fit you." She said quietly, sitting across from him with Pyrrha on one side of him and Neo on the other. "Given your deal with Salem, I mean…" " _A Queen's partner would be a King, after all. And Kings wear crowns."_

He made a sour face, staring down at the helmet's face for a long moment before sighing and lifting it, sliding it down onto his head and adjusting it, leaving the veil open for now and looking across at Cinder and then up at the only other crate on board, small and made of dark wood without any markings.

"A crown it is then. Let's just hope I live up to wearing one." He said, the ramp finally closing and Jaune shifting with the craft as it lifted into the air and tilted, angling North towards Atlas. Towards Ironwood, he thought, adding, "And my first act is declaring a war… Just freaking perfect."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"You said there were _how many_ Grimm Dragons in between us?" James asked, eyes wide and mouth gaping as he looked at his flight officer. Now his secondary officer, with Winter's absence and betrayal.

"Uh, seven, sir. And flocks of Nevermore and Gryphons as well, though given their company, they aren't much concern." The officer informed him, Ironwood leaning back in his chair and staring at the officer as he continued, "The fleet requests your orders, General. As it stands, they block our route to Atlas itself. And our fuel reserves as well, and any refueling centers in the area are out of contact."

Either destroyed or under attack and soon to be, he filled in for himself, turning hard eyes on the window in front of him and the blue sky beyond. Drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair, his mind raced with questions and accusations. This was Arc's doing, no doubt, only furthering what he already knew. Jaune and Salem were in bed together, metaphorically or perhaps even literally as disgusting as _that_ thought was.

It didn't matter, though, whichever might be true. All that mattered were the dragons and his fleet.

"What are they doing? Can we tell?" He asked, barely turning his head towards the officer while he stared into space. Thinking, analyzing and planning a thousand different ways to handle this situation and a million problems the solutions brought.

"Holding, General." The officer responded quietly, sounding almost shocked. "They are just… Holding, sir. Hovering, mostly, or circling. A few _have_ landed, however, according to scout craft reports. Likely to menace surrounding outposts and resource centers."

Or to maintain their stamina, he didn't add. Grimm in general didn't truly have stamina in the sense humans used but some, like these beasts, had similar. They couldn't fly forever and if you exhausted them they would slow. In all Atlesian history only one Grimm Dragon had been felled by the Atlesian Navy itself. At the cost of two thirds of its force and a century of Hunters.

Not a price he could physically pay, even if he were willing. He simply lacked the numbers for it.

So why would Salem order them to _hold_? They'd tire out, possibly even be injured by fighters on the Atlesian mainland before he got there even.

"Jaune Arc…" He tried the name, feeling his mind work around it. Around the young man's typical strategies, his ways of approaching things. His fingers drummed faster as his mind raced to match them, beating out a rhythm of every bout and battle the blonde had faced to his knowledge, voice low enough that the officer either couldn't hear. Or perhaps he knew better than to interrupt his thought process. "He never goes straight in for the throat. Or to batter own an enemy through sheer strength… No, he doesn't do that. He finds other ways in. Back doors, to fight the leaders themselves face to face."

"Maintain heading and speed." He ordered, smiling thinly in grim satisfaction as a plan came to mind. Standing he raised his voice, wary of all the eyes on him and the ears listening to his orders across the communication channels. "Assume Speartip formation, using my flagship as the tip and supporting with the heaviest craft we have. We will force our way through the dragons and towards the Kingdom, to link up with the rest of the Atlesian fleets. Send an order to all returning fleets to regroup at our current coordinates and then come in after us. Together with our brothers and sisters from across Remnant, we will sandwich these creatures between us within the next few hours."

Raising a fist high into the sky, his robotic arm on purpose and he knew they recognized it as a symbol of Atlesian power and design, he added, "And with them coming to our aid, we will crush these Grimm. For Atlas!"

As the calls of 'For Atlas' echoed back at him across radio units and from his own officers, he took his seat and closed his eyes. It was only a matter of time, now, before the fighting began. But was it a fight he could _win_ , he asked himself?

Opening his eyes, he looked out at the blue waters of Remnant and the lightly clouded blue sky his fleet soared through, smiling bitterly. A good day to die, it seemed.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

True to his word, two and a half hours passed and one of his staff officers called out, "Radar contacts ahead, sir. Radar pings show… The dragons, sir." The voice sounded nervous, unbecoming of an officer of his flagship, but this once James was content to let things lie. Even _he_ was afraid. "All ships checking in, requesting permission to shift to battle preparations and enact code red protocols ship-wide."

"Granted." He said quietly, the officer turning without another word to give out the command along with three others nearby, handing out the words across his ship and the ships around him while he took stock of what he had, raising his voice to confidently say, "Remember, brave soldiers of Atlas, that our fleet has already felled one of these creatures before! This will be just like that one!"

His flagship, a dozen heavy frigates and three carriers, and two destroyers, all armed and prepared for the fight to come as best they could. A far cry from the hundreds of frigates, dozens of destroyers and veritably limitless fighters that had felled the first one, even with his flagship and the more advanced technology.

No one called him on the lie, as the lights faded to a dim red glow to conserve power and prevent overloads once the damage started to pile on.

Ahead of him he could see the snowy, forested expanse of Mantel, his home, as the southern coast spread out before his fleet and, he knew, galvanized their morale. And with that sight came the _cloud_ of Grimm, for that is what the hordes of avian and flying Grimm looked like now. Along with three of the great Grimm dragons, two spreading wings and climbing into the sky already as soon as they saw him.

Cracking his neck, he order, "All ships with clear lines, fire explosive canisters as soon as the swarms approach range needed. Follow with fighters, on orders to close lines and then divert upwards. Heavy cannons volly again afterwards, aim for the center dragon and the center of their formation. Thirty percent anti-armor rounds, seventy canister."

His officers relayed the order and so, in ten more minutes as the cloud swarmed ahead of the dragons, he felt the slightest tremor under his feet as every cannon including his heavy ship-killers fired a single round, an act echoed by every ship to either side of him in a long wedge shape. Bright white lines trailed ahead of his ship, Dust flaring to carry the massive cylinders towards their target, before they exploded in bright splashes of yellow and red. The steel balls, around half a man's size and twice their weight, lanced forward out of them into the Grimm with devastating effect.

As his fighters and interceptors shot forward past his ship, the air ahead was already clogging with the black mist of the Grimm and the vapor of the burned Dust trails. Hundreds of fighters, mostly unmanned drones which took the fore but with a fair number of pilots as well, swarmed towards the Grimm and began silently, to Ironwood at least, discharging belts of ammunition and small-load canister missiles into the Grimm swarms before slamming up a few hundred yards ahead of the Grimm.

Some of the swarm followed them, great twisters of the creatures spiraling up after the retreating fighters, and Ironwood could see the small puffs that marked destroyed craft and releasing drop-canisters as they rose, detonating among the Grimm and tearing their numbers even further part as they rose and another volley from his ships came in, destroying hundreds more Grimm.

Now, barely two hundred yards away, the true threats became apparent. The Dragons, like massive creatures straight out of myth and fable both. With black bodies the size of his own flagship, covered in white armor etched in red and with teeth large and hard enough to crush even the heaviest armor plating, soaring forward on massive leather wings with their tails lashing behind them, curved horns over vicious red eyes stretching out to their snout wickedly.

The center dragon and leader of the trio, as well as the closest, looked straight ahead of itself at his ship and Ironwood swallowed nervously, fighting the nigh-irresistible terror that gripped him as it appraised his ship before with that same gentle thrum, his ship and those at his side fired once again, too close to truly miss and with anti-armor rounds so large that any lesser Grimm in their way simply ceased to _be_ along its path.

The rounds struck home, and the creature visibly recoiled, head and neck twisting as it loosed a roar that Ironwood didn't so much hear as he _felt_ it vibrate the entirety of his ship. Several officers stumbled from the force but Ironwood, seated in his chair, simply stared at the beast. And it stared _back_ , clearly angry and just smart enough to know who had left the smoldering wounds on its armored chest. A second volley at barely fifty yards was released, barking forth, and Ironwood clenched his teeth and prayed.

Again the creature recoiled, huge hunks of armor and flesh falling away, but still it continued on. Headlong for his ship until just before its horns would have shorn through armor, the dragon twisted to the side, past him. His eyes followed the dark mass as it slammed down on the destroyer beside his ship, the Atlesians helpless to do anything other than watch as it slammed its tail into and through the command deck, lifting its head and slamming down with its horns into the center of the ship.

Smoke, fire and metal spilling forth, it twisted its head until the ship's engines died and it began to fall, the creature releasing the vessel and letting it careen down towards the waters below. Then it turned and _looked_ at his command deck, a massive piece of metal in its mouth that it hurled behind it at a frigate that buckled under the weight of it and another dragon doing the same thing to it.

"Sir, that was the main fuel center." An officer called out to him, sounding shocked as James felt as he turned to look at him, "The reserves can only be rapid-activated in the command deck, and all the Dragons are doing that!"

They knew how to destroy his ships…?

"All ships, disengage Speartup formation and break apart!" Of course, he thought to himself, he wasn't fighting _Grimm_. Not on their own. Now, he was fighting someone far older, wiser and more ruthless. Salem herself controlled these Grimm. "Lighter ships and their fighters are to break for Mistral, and all ships broadcast a belay on previous plans!"

"General!" He heard an officer cry, turning to look behind him as his cream scrambled for cover. His eyes were met with a dragon's tail, that carved through the upper decks of his ship towards him as it turned and pounced on another destroyed.

It would have taken him with the third of his command deck it destroyed, were it not for a pair of hands gripping his pants and yanking him away, hurling him bodily away from the damage. The officer, though, took his place and was swept away with the armor and huns of his ship's right side.

"Gods…" Standing and ignoring the air whipping at his face, Ironwood shook his head, looking over the ships with wide eyes as they belched fire and smoke, some falling already as swarms of Grimm overwhelmed them. "What have I done?"

A Gryphon landed on the shorn armor, snapping through the damaged and missing armor at crewmen running for shelter on other decks, and he set his drw as he drew his sidearm, leveling it at the creature as it turned towards him and snarled.A single well-placed round destroyed its head entirely and the corpse was carried away by the wind as another _dozen_ took its place, snarling at him and his crew.

The first leaps and he blasted its wing away as it flew, letting it fly away and die on it sown time as he sighted the next and sent it to hell as well. The fourth, though, slammed into him bodily and snarled down at him, before a hail of gunfire ended its existence too and several pairs of hands dragged him away, behind a command console.

"Sir, I believe this will be more useful to you." His temporary, or not-so-temporary now given everything, secondary officer said as he thrust a rifle into his hands. James took it, turning and standing with the young man and putting burst into Grimm as they came and he added, "Looks like this might be it, Sir. Just wanted to say it was an hon-"

His words died along with the man as shrapnel from a misplaced canister round tore into his command deck, tossing Ironwood and several members of his crew to the ground. Only he stood backup though, swearing and leveling his rifle at the next Grimm as it came for him, maw gaping and claws scraping against steel.

It fell away and he looked at the body beside him, shaking his head and whispering, "An honor to have had you under me." Looking at the remaining men and women, some manning stations still or routing control to the safer consoles on the intact side of his ship, he raised his human fist and let out a roar, "For Atlas!"

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Are you sure?" The pilot asked Jaune, looking over her shoulder at him as the blonde watched the fleet fighting in the distance, clusters of ships and their fighters being overwhelmed by the Dragons and the flying Grimm with them, four more slowly circling and tearing apart any ship brave enough to try and flee. "These ships aren't built for that kind of fighting."

"Get us above the fleet, find the flagship and let us know." He ordered quietly, resting a hand on the young woman's shoulder and trying to convey some warmth into his voice in spite of what he was seeing. "We'll leap for it, and you both get out of here. Don't' breathe a word of what happened here and you'll get what you were paid a second time. Tell the other ship to continue to Atlas with the others, land right on the coast there to let them out. Understand?"

She looked at him for a long moment and sighed, shaking her head, "Crazy motherfucking Hunters are lucky you have so much Lien on offer." Looking at him and making a face, she jerked her head toward the passenger section, "Well? Get ready to jump, you friggin' psycho. You ain't doing it from here."

Nodding, he left, and Pyrrha was the first to meet him, "What's happening?"

"Cinder, you have the crate. Pyrrha, you have Neo." He ordered simply, the women standing as he passed them and continued, "They'll get over the battle, and the flagship, and then we jump for it." Looking at the crate Pyrrha pulled down, he rapped a knuckle against it, "See if any Grimm can help us down, yeah?"

"You're insane, Jaune, you know that?" Pyrrha snarked, handing Cinder the crate as Neo smiled widely and excitedly, practically bouncing where she stood next to the Mistralian champion. Holding up a hand, forearm straight up, she smiled, "An absolutely insane, daring Lokhoi, and one I am most proud to have sworn to."

"Thanks, Pyr." He said, tapping his forearm to hers and pushing past them to the ramp, rolling his shoulders and sighing, "For the record, I think this is the craziest idea I have ever had too."

The ramp started to descend, and Jaune took a cold breath before leaping as soon as it was opened enough, shrieking as he fell through Grimm, smoke, dark mists from the dead creatures and more. A fighter billowing smoke shrieked by, spinning wildly, before Jaune felt claws latch onto him from behind and then felt the sudden _yank_ of it pulling him up. A moment later Jaune felt a burst of wind, and was sent spinning through the air as _something_ killed the Grimm.

Jaune caught a glimpse of white metal and black dragon before another something yanked hi bodily to the side, and strong, armored arms wrapped around him. Pyrrha rolled over, Neo clambering around her and wrapping herself around them both as the Mistralian woman burst into flames and _flew_ , if only for a moment, towards a ship missing a large portion of its armor on one side with Grimm lunging towards the opening only to be driven back by what had to be gunfire. A turret firing a belt of ammunition arced towards them and Pyrrha rolled them in the air, giving Jaune a glimpse of Cinder behind them, and then he felt once more a sharp yank as Pyrrha sought to slow them.

The foursome rolled across the top of the ship, their Auras flaring desperately to protect them as several Grimm latching onto them before they could fall away, and then they too leapt for the breach. The creatures fell to withering fire and that left them, kneeling in the breach and spreading out in front of half-a-dozen Atlesian officers with rifles and sidearms, and General James Ironwood himself.

He extended his shield, Pyrrha at his side raising hers and kneeling, and the other two leapt behind the two shield-wielders for cover as rounds seared through the air around them, and Jaune swept his leaf-blade sword back before, with a roar lost to the gnashing winds, he swept it forward and sent his Semblance _blasting_ forward.

The shockwave sent everyone in front of him slamming into the wall or consoles, and the ship listed for a moment before an officer corrected it. His Maidens followed, shooting forward and trailing fire as they started to tear into the defenders and then the Grimm joined in, swarming through the opening they made as Jaune charged, his sword hilting in an Atlesian officer as she tried to fire into Pyrrha's back.

He stumbled as a round slammed into his chest, heavier than the others, and looked up to see Ironwood at the door waving men and women into the ship and aiming at him. He caught the next round on his shield, smiling behind his chain-veil, and Ironwood buckled as Neo dropped from the ceiling behind him and buried her rapier in his calf.

She leapt away as he staggered upright and slammed his elbow into the air she'd occupied, the last crewmen disappearing through the door as Ironwood looked at leveled the sword at him, tip pointed at his chest, and repeated, "No matter what you put between me and you, Ironwood."

Without saying a word in return, the General slammed a fist into a button at the side of the door and it slammed closed. Locked, Jaune knew, even without his Semblance. Spreading his arms to either side and stumbling as the ship shook and his destroyed pants dyed themselves red, Ironwood shouted, "What now, Arc?"

"Now," he said, smiling again in spite of the knowledge Ironwood couldn't see it, "we _land_ this ship."

The ship shook violently, then, as one of the dragons mounted its top and ripped into it, Jaune grabbing a Gryphon as it turned, leaping on top of it as it and three others laden with his allies took to the air, now above the coast of Mantel as the ship twisted violently to the side at the Dragon's request, falling away and Ironwood was pitched bodily into the air, snapped up by a Nevermore that dove towards the ground below with him in its claws.

They landed in a clearing, the Gryphons letting them off like a horse might have while the Nevermore simply dropped Ironwood on the ground and then soared back towards the fight eagerly, and Jaune turned to Cinder, "Get Salem out here, right now."

"Jaune." She greeted a moment later, as the creature clambered out, sounding tired, "What do you need _now_?"

"Have your Grimm drive the fleet away, but stop destroying ships, Salem." He asked, standing less than a dozen feet from Ironwood as he staggered upright and watched him. The two locked eyes, and he added, "They don't need to die, not for this, and I have what I wanted. So please, Salem. Let this end."

"Very well." She said, as above and around them the lesser Grimm began to flock away, and the Dragons circled overhead, warding the damaged a fleet to limp away. A scarce few miles away, smoke from the wreckage of the flagship climbed into the sky, and Salem continued, "I must say, Jaune, that was quite the display. I'm impressed, truly. What now?"

"Now?" He chuckled, looking at Neo and bouncing his sword in his hand, before looking at Ironwood. "Now we _finish_ this, Ironwood. You murdered my friend, and now you will follow him. Straight into the ground."

"I suppose you expect some speech, or apology, or for me toplead for Atlas?" He asked, sounding tired and looking around at the snow-covered forest almost reverently. When his eyes fell on the four of them again, he actually chuckled, "You won't get any of it. I did what I had to."

"Bullshit!" He snarled, Neo hissing at his side as he continued, "You attacked a ship just sitting in Beacon's airspace. Violated treaties, laws, betrayed _your_ friend's trust, all to murder my friend based on your assumptions about me! All of this after you _had me attacked_ in my own home, when I was minding my own business."

"And you had my men and women _slaughtered_ for it, Arc!" He snarled back, gesturing around himself with his free hand, his other gripping the revolver tight. "And again, today, right here... You did it. Slaughtered my people in vengeance. And using _Grimm_ to do it, almost like my so-called assumptions were entirely correct and well-founded!"

"Maybe…" Jaune admitted quietly, shaking his head and turning, slamming his shield into the snow in front of him, "And maybe later, I'll decide you were right and try to change. But you?" He shook his head again, taking a deep breath of the frigid air, "You won't see that. Or anything else at all."

"No." He agreed, straightening and rolling his shoulders, looking up at one of the Dragons as it turned lazily in the air. When his eyes returned to Jaune's they were cold and resigned entirely. "I suppose I won't, at that. So let's finish this, Jaune Arc. You and me, right here, on Mantel. My homeland."

"Sorry, Neo." He said quietly, the woman looking up at him curiously, Jaune gesturing towards the general with his head. "I have to give him this. After everything that's happened, I owe him that much at least. Forgive me?" After a long second of staring at him, she nodded and stepped back towards the trees, crossing her arms, and Jaune said, "Then let's get this over with."

Reaching up, Jaune pulled the helmet off of his head and turned to pitch it to Cinder. He'd need the edge his Semblance brought to match Ironwood, even wounded and tired as he was.

Turning, he readied his shield and, without a word, charged. Ironwood, even injured, ducked under the first strike easily and rolled to a standing position behind Jaune, firing a round into his armored back. His Aura deflected it and he spun with the force, his shield catching the next round as his blade whistled overhead. Sensing the next attack, he leapt over the round as it exploded in the snow and roared, his Semblance ripping forward and hurling him into the ground.

The man rolled to the side and to a standing position as the Arc landed where he'd lain, armored knees digging into the snow and dirt as he leapt and lunged at Ironwood's back. The man caught the blow on his forearm, slamming down on his wounded leg. And it buckled under him, Jaune slamming a foot into his sternum as his Aura - weakened from the battle to near nonexistence - gave out, his sword slamming down into his chest and beyond, into the soil underneath.

"I told you." Jaune gasped, feeling the blade inside him as well thanks to his Semblance, "My sword, in your chest, buried to the hilt. I gave you my word, after all, that this would be what happened. And an Arc-"

"-never breaks his word." Ironwood chuckled, head resting in the snow, "Maybe… I was wrong, then. And maybe..." " _This is justice, for what my mistake caused."_ Sighing, his thoughts scattered, and Jaune stood as his mind and body failed, stepping away and turning towards the others.

"Let's go find the others." He said tiredly, accepting the helmet when it was offered and sliding it on once again. He turned to look at the corpse, eyes searching, and then deflated slightly, whispering low enough and far enough from the others they wouldn't hear. "This wasn't justice…"

This was a tragedy, almost a year in the making.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **[Archive Entry 109876] Atlesian Anti-Grimm Combat Tactics and Equipment : Speartip Formation and its Tactical Use**_

 **Due to the varied nature and the massive number of Grimm, many tactics have been devised across Remnant for combatting them on the ground, at sea and most relevantly here, in the air. Against massive swarms of aeriel Grimm a simple tactic was formed for combatting them in the most effective measure with many derivatives, the most common and oldest being the Speartip formation.**

 **Using the Speartip Formation a commanding officer of sufficient rank orders his ship into a massive wedge shape, frigates and destroyers holding the outer edges and their heavier varients toward the front of the 'spearhead', serving as the main source of attack and the first and primary targets of simplistic Grimm aggression. The center of the fleet is usually comprised of transports, repair ships, carriers, lighter frigates and other small, lightly armored vessels.**

 **Once the formation is assumed, the ships staggered to expose the largest numbers of guns and missile pods where applicable, the ships collectively launch a volley of long-range canister shells - Dust based munitions consisting of a single large cylinder with a rocket propellant which detonates at a pre-determined point, scattering shrapnel through the approaching forces - and then sends in interceptor forces for a skirmish that serves two functions.**

 **The first and most obvious of these is thinning the number of Grimm with their attacks, consisting of belt-fed light unitions and smaller variants of the canister rounds used by the ships previously. The craft then spike up or down, depending on altitude, with up being preferable. Rear ships then release another kind of canister shell, falling like a grenade and detonating among the Grimm falling for the second purpose, to draw the Grimm away from the heavy ships.**

 **From there, more volleys follow and the ships attempt to close the distance, using close-range point defence to support interceptor forces in neutralizing targets.**

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **What?**_

 _ **Double chapter inside a week?**_

 _ **Insane, right?**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed. The boarding action was, I feel, a bit hectic. But I've no idea how to make leaping onto a ship in the midst of a huge fuck off battle seem**_ **not** _**absolutely insane and a total shitstorm. Hope it wasn't too hard to follow.**_

 _ **And as for Ironwood I will simply say that, as Jaune notes in-chapter, Ironwood's Aura started their little bout basically gone and he was even wounded. So while it feels like an anti-climax a touch, it is how this would go.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Gizmo Gear :**_

 _ **Glad you enjoy it so much. Hope to continue failing to disappoint~**_

 _ **Hikari Niwa :**_

 _ **I know, but I can't quite juggle that much romantics yet as a writer. Apologies.**_

 _ **Adol116 :**_

 _ **Er, well, um, surprise~?**_

 _ **Deathtrooper900 :**_

 _ **Not much chase here, now~**_

 _ **Just a battle~**_

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 _ **Killing off characters kinda fails if you don't like 'em.**_

 _ **Wolfpackrwby88 :**_

 _ **Yep~! First name Loki.**_

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 _ **The one I included in this chapter was probably less funny than you envisioned~!**_


	19. After the Fact

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I am now, thanks to Supporters as listed above, stable and safe and working regularly on Fanfictions and an original, private project called Re:Programmed. Details**_ **will** _**be starting to come out within the next couple of months once I find an adequate animator.**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~!**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"What happened, Jaune?" Ruby asked quietly when he joined them, voice quiet ad the small woman sitting in a circle of friends, while Cinder and Pyrrha moved away to gather firewood under their own volition. "I thought you didn't want… _This_ to happen."

He looked out at the sea at her gesture and grimace under his helmet. Just under a dozen Atlesian ships were floating in the water, small craft visible even from here buzzing along the water between them on rescue missions. A few ships had probably submerged while he fought Ironwood and made his way to the beach, looking for them, but the number of rescue craft served to comfort him somewhat.

With so many alive and rescuing others, it can't have been that bad, he assured himself.

"Winter." He asked quietly, the Schnee standing a few feet behind him and watching both him and the orb floating behind him in a mixture of apathetic anger, and complete terror. "Can you… Guess how bad things are, out there? You're in the military so, I guess I figure you could tell... How bad was the damage?"

"I… Would wager that twenty ships went down. A dozen are floating, taking time to sink, likely because of interior bulkheads. Simple statistics on their effectiveness merits adding at least five, however." Her eyes flickered to Salem's orb, almost accusing, "The lack of Grimm _after_ the battle is likely mitigating casualties further. Normally, rescue efforts are quite hampered by them."

"They receded with the dragons when they left." Ren said simply, eyeing Jaune carefully as he plopped onto the snow and sand of the beach, "I suppose that means you dealt with Ironwood, to your satisfaction, Jaune. Yes?"

"Nothing about this is satisfying, Ren, you know me better than that." He hoped, though the question did bring to light some uncomfortable questions about his friends' feelings about him, now that no one was _actively_ trying to kill him, at least. He gave Penny a glance, the girl hovering over Weiss like a protective mother would a particularly danger prone child, about twenty feet away with her sister, Nora and Pyrrha, "I still don't know what _she_ is. Not fully, at least. She felt odd, to me, when I met her."

"Some kind of Atlesian android, according to Weiss' sister." Ren explained, wrapping an arm around Nora when she came over and casually pulling her into a hug. Weiss and Winter didn't join them, though, and Cinder finally showed up with Neo in tow, "Are you okay, Jaune?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, leaning back against the tail end of one of the craft, the two sitting nose-to-nose facing the trees, the girls still not sitting with the foursome speaking gathering sticks and logs in the center, "I'm not... hurt or anything."

"Gods, this is what you're like without your Semblance, isn't it?" Ruby groaned, drawing her knees against his chest and scooting to his side, leaning against the ship and resting her head on its cool metal, "Absolutely oblivious."

"I don't-"

"Jaune, you lost a friend, and then went on a _literal_ war path." Ren cut in, shaking his head with a small smile on his lips, amused at something Jaune wasn't sure of. "We're asking about how you're doing, with that, and… Everything else."

He caught the glance at Salem, and sighed, the orb hovering at his side idly, "I… Didn't want all of this, you know? But it's fine. I'll live, with Salem, and Roman… Was a bad person, at the end of the day, but he was my friend and…" Jaune coughed when something felt lodged in his throat, shaking his head, "He's gone, and I'll get over that, now that no one _else_ is going to get killed for knowing me."

"Hopefully…?" Ruby spared Salem a glance, clearly questioning _her_ , "Uh, Miss Salem, you're not… You know…"

"Attack Atlas and raze it unto its foundations, slaughtering the inhabitants I have no use for and enslaving those I do?" She asked, Ruby swallowing nervously and nodding at the suggested idea, "No, why ever would you think I would do that?"

"Well…" Ruby looked to Ren, clearly not sure how to handle _this_ conversation with _this_ particular person. "Ren? Little, you know, help here, teammate?"

"You are the Queen of the Grimm, enemy of all mankind, and you ripped our friend Yang's arm off for interrupting you. You also just crippled the majority of one of Atlas' main fleets with barely any effort and no losses of anything you likely care about." Ren offered simply, rubbing Nora's shoulder with one hand and idly making circles in the sand with the other, smiling at Ruby in spite of everything, "That about do it for you?"

"Yes." Ruby hesitantly offered, looking at Jaune nervously, "Does, uh, that sound like it will make Salem angry?"

"Not so much as speaking about me like I am not present." Salem chided gently, or as gently as _Salem_ could manage to sound. Which still had Ruby blanche and swallow anxiously, Salem actually managing a chuckle at the display, "My, Jaune, are all your friends so skittish? I barely even threaten her and she turns as white as the snow she is sitting on."

"Where are you all going to go from here?" Jaune asked, ignoring Salem's question and drawing a sigh from her for it. "I doubt you can go back to Beacon, and I don't want to risk Ansel anymore. Even _if_ my father would allow me back after all… All of _this_ ," he waved an arm at the battlefield indicatively, sighing and letting his arm flop into the sand and snow, metal helmet clanking against the metal of the ship, "Even then, I don't think it's safe to go there. Not, you know, for them."

"Ozpin is still a threat, and people holding a grudge for what has happened here." Salem observed, the rest of them looking at her, "I am, of course, biased in my opinions. But I do genuinely believe that nowhere is safe for any of you now, not really."

"Some of us have the White Fang to worry about, others have Ozpin and whoever he gets together…" Ruby sighed, eyes closing and face pinching as she tried to frame what she wanted to say and eventually gave up, "What do we do now?"

"Salem?" He asked idly, the woman sighing.

"So long as I don't end up being killed again, I don't mind playing hostess to your friends, if need be." She said, adding, "Though they will need to accept their position as my _guests_ , and not attempt to leverage me into going against my goals."

"Which are?" Nora asked quietly, voice low and frankly surprisingly fragile to Jaune. Something that worried him, really, but something he shelved for later after a second's thought.

"To rule, of course." She said simply, laughing at the strange, confused faces they made while Cinder finally set the wood they had gathered aflame with a wave of her hand, and the others joined them at the fire, "I simply wish to rule this world. To hold the entire planet in my thrall, that is my wish."

"And what kind of life will that be for everyone involved?" Winter asked, Weiss sitting at her side on the other end of the fire, and the others scattering around it. Except Neo, who sat directly opposite Jaune, staring into the sand and tucking her knees against her chest, resting her forehead on them.

Tired, after everything, maybe. Or just upset in general and withdrawing. He didn't know and couldn't, not until he took off his helmet. Which wasn't happening, not here. Not in the middle of an actual war zone, created by Jaune himself or not, because that would _not_ be helpful to this conversation.

"I can't imagine it a nice life." Weiss grumbled, shaking her head and brushing sand off her dress, watching the fire and seeming more comfortable with its warmth. "Being lorded over, enslaved… I think I would rather die."

"Is that a request?" Salem asked, a joke to be sure but one that chilled them all more than the barely below freezing temperature did. "I jest, Schnee, relax. I don't mean to enslave this planet, only rule it. I don't _care_ how people under that rulership live their meaningless little lives, so long as when they look up they see _my face_ and know I am their ruler."

"And if I am going to be involved," Jaune cut in, "then their lives will be decent, at least. I won't tolerate you being a heartless dictator, Salem."

"I am aware." She sighed, clearly not very satisfied by that idea but more than willing to accept it. If, he was sure, she got what she wanted in exchange. "As I said, I don't _care_ how they live their little lives. Be they happy lives or sad is of no consequence. I would also rather not have little under a dozen Huntresses and Huntsmen living in my castle, but that, too, is beyond my power to affect."

"And that's the only safe place to go." Ruby added, sighing, "I guess… I guess we have to go, then, but… What about the pilots? They said they'd wait inside, and don't seem to care, but-"

"I'll use my Semblance to erase Salem from their memories." Jaune assured her, grimacing under his helmet at the idea, "I don't _like_ the idea, but short of throwing them in a cell and leaving them there, or killing them, I don't have anything."

"And riding my Grimm would take quite too long. Most of you would die of the weather on the way, you're already shivering even with a fire." Salem added, sounding amused somehow at the last part. "And while I would prefer they simply die, Jaune's solution is as good as any we are likely to agree on. The rest of our… Arrangements can be made at my home, I grow so tired of speaking through this Seer."

"What about Winter, first." Jaune pointed out, the eldest Schnee making a face caught between relief at him thinking about it and something else he didn't recognize, "What are you going to do? Are you going to come with us?"

"No, I am not." She sighed when Weiss made a face, clearly the youngest Schnee didn't like being separated from he sister now. "I have a duty, to Atlas and to the soldiers out there, to try and make _something_ of the mess Ironwood caused. There's no one else who can, if I am frank, without causing a war with at _least_ one of the Kingdoms. But…"

"But I do not wish to leave my sister unattended, so," she stood and turned, looking down at Penny, "I have a favor to ask of you, Penny. Assuming you consent, of course, to a simple favor."

"Friends ask for favors, right?" Winter sighed, but nodded at the question. Which drew a wide, happy smile from the android and an almost adorable tilt of her head along with it, "Then I will do it, whatever it is, for you, Friend Winter."

"Go with my sister, then, and keep her safe. As a friend of mine, I trust you to do this for me, alright?" She asked, Weiss seeming affronted by the implication she needed looking after. She was too polite, or tired, or some combination therein, to say anything. "I will wait until you have left and signal retrieval from here."

After Penny nodded, they all rose, and went their separate ways.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Dealing with the pilots had been simple as hell, a hand to the backs of their heads when they weren't paying attention and simple directions : Take us where we say to, and then forget all about it up until this point. A simple enough direction, and with an added urging not to question them and just do as they were told, he was soundly sure that this particular step would take care of itself now. Salem, at least, backed up his assertion with a few added suggestions for him, to help him ensure that his little trick wouldn't fall through if something came to push them towards the correct answers.

And so, an hour after General Ironwood died, the two small craft lifted off of the ground and headed towards an Atlesian refuelling base a few miles north. From there, they'd head to wherever Salem directed them, her Seer hovering a few feet away from him near the cockpit door. Cinder and Neo sat to either side of him, the latter leaning against a bulkhead and snoozing gently, and Pyrrha sat across from him, green eyes boring a hole into the metal floor of the craft as it flew.

"Pyrrha, something is bugging you." He half-accused, the Mistralian humming and nodding, but not actually looking at him or responding. "What's wrong? I'm, uh, wearing my helmet because Neo is asleep, and I don't want to intrude, so… Talk about it? Please?"

"I…" She sighed, glancing to his masked face first and then Salem's Seer, before finally sighing again and returning her gaze to the floor of the craft, "This wasn't supposed to go this way, Lokhoi. I thought we were aiming to _avoid_ a war. Avoid a slaughter, even, but… We didn't do that, did we?"

"This wasn't the idea, no. Not behind my plan." He turned to Salem's Seer meaningfully, and when she didn't respond, took a deep breath and asked, "What happened out there, Salem? Why did you attack?"

"Because the good general was going to try and rush past my little blockade, and if he made it to _Atlas_ , then your only recourse to getting to him would have been an outright assault, or a siege." She answered simply, sounding more tired than offended or upset at the line of questioning. "I felt you would prefer a few hundred deaths to _thousands_ , so I took the initiative. Remember, Jaune, you are _not_ my ruler, but my ally. I act of my own accord, even when I act in your defense. And I even withdrew my Grimm, and had my dragons aim to disable rather than destroy the ships, specifically as a favor to you."

"You should have said something first, at least." He argued, but the words sounded weak even to him, and he shook his head after a second, "But… Yeah, I guess. Gods, I hate these disgusting numbers games, but… You're right, I suppose, that I prefer this. And you did try to limit the damage, so… Okay. Pyrrha?"

"If there were no other routes, then… I suppose I have no choice but to support the decisions made, Jaune." She answered, turning and laying on the seats there, against the side of the craft, "I wish to rest, if you do not mind. I am fatigued, after so much, and it feels like days since I last slept."

"You should rest, too, Master." Cinder suggested when Pyrrha's breathing evened out and she looked to be asleep, sliding away from him and gesturing at her lap, the space too confined for anything else but her standing, and smiling innocently. "You can lay your head here, Master. It is better than these hard, cold, metal seats to be certain. If you wish it, though, I will simply stand."

He _was_ exhausted, that much was certain, and after a glance to Salem, the Seer floating silently, he nodded and slid his helmet off, quickly laying down before he could 'hear' anything and closing his eyes. Normally sleep was slow to come for him, especially around people, but instead when his head met Cinder's lap, he found himself nodding off fairly quickly.

Which worsened when she set to running her fingers through his hair, which soothed him a surprising bit. And then he was gone entirely, lost to black, blessedly dreamless sleep.

Once she was sure he was asleep, Cinder turned to look at Salem, "You understand that, if you try to hurt him, hell itself will rise to punish you. Yes?"

"I understand that you and his friends will try, at the least." She answered, sounding amused at the threat from her once-servant. "But you needn't worry, the last thing I want is Jaune hurt. I'm tired of this world, and living alone in it, while everyone around me dies over and over again. I have lived so long that my most heinous of acts, themselves made to memorialize myself, have faded to myths at the _best_ of times."

"So long as you understand." Cinder said, shrugging and continuing in a quiet voice to avoid waking the exhausted young man in her lap, that detail the only reason she believed their conversation _wouldn't_ wake him in the first place. "I don't care why you want him so, only that you don't hurt him or his friends to get there. Neither are tolerable, and I aim to make sure that you are quite aware of that."

"My, but the slave does have some bit to her. Like a dog, beaten into submission and loyalty by her master. I suppose that makes you his bitch, then?" She asked, chuckling to herself at Cinder's attitude. When the half-maiden didn't rise to the obvious bait, she sighed, "Oh very well, Cinder, consider your little message received. As unneeded as it was."

"I am glad we have an understanding." She responded, turning her attention back to Jaune's head on her lap, smoothing out his hair and doing her best to clean it up and straighten it while he slept.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"We can't leap to conclusions based on how we feel about what happened." Weiss argued, even if the words felt wrong and what she was saying felt wronger still. "For all we know, he may have been out of the loop in regards to Salem's plan. Or maybe she had some detail we don't now, sitting in this cramped little ship."

"I'm surprised you, of all people, are so trusting of someone in Jaune's particular position." Ren argued, eyes narrowed suspiciously. Moreo at her than Jaune, given the young blonde's ability to 'coerce' people. They'd witnessed already how easy it was for him, and how easily he took to actually doing it, with the pilots of these very ships. Weiss looked offended, and he hurried to add, "Given our involvement with someone who quite literally controls minds, I seek to know your reasoning. Please, do share."

"I… Have learned to trust my friends." She made a face, regret and anger mixed with grief, and explained, "When Blake's… situation happened, I was one of the ones to rush to condemn her, For being a Faunus and for what she'd done before that as well, when everything came to light. I judged her based on my feelings, and… And then she-"

"Gave her life when it was called for, to save the Kingdom and help her people." Ren filled in, eyes closing in as much relief as sympathy and grief, "I understand why you would seek to lean on trusting him this time, then. Given what happened when you were… Slightly more quick to judge."

"And he looked upset as well, when he came back and saw the damage." Ruby added, grimacing after a second, "Or, you know, I thought he did, at least. Kinda hard to tell, though, in that helmet, but-"

"He was upset." Ren assured her, "And exhausted as well. I could tell from his body language, the way he flopped on the ground and leaned against the ship's hull, he just wanted to pass out. He's been through quite a bit, in the last few days, and were I a gambling man I would wager he will show his feelings on the matter quite clearly after a few days' time, to rest and absorb everything."

"Maybe." Nora added quietly, taking a deep breath and then smiling, "It was nice, though, to see Jaune and Pyrrha again. Ever since they left, I worried that when we heard about them again they'd be… Gone."

"But they were already gone." Penny murmured, obviously confused at the phrasing. The groups, as a whole, grimaced and Ruby turned towards her.

"She, uh, she meant that she was afraid that when we heard about them again, they'd be, you know…" She made a face, apologetic and awkward at the same time, and whispered, "Dead, Penny."

"Oh!" The android gasped, looking to Nora for confirmation. When the other ginger nodded, agreeing with Ruby, she was quick to respond, "I am _so_ sorry, Friend Nora, I didn't know that is what you meant. I am sorry, my father did not program many conversational tools into my lexicon of language."

"It's fine, Penny. Really, it's okay, don't stress out over it or anything." She assured the young synthetic girl, smiling in spite of everything and feeling genuinely happy in a way. "You're gonna need a study buddy to learn turns of phrase, aren't ya?"

"Nora, no." Ren was quick to say, going ignored by the ginger.

"Yes, please, Friend Nora." Penny nodded, smiling widely and scooting to the edge of her metal seat, "It would be sensational to have a friend to spend time with and learn things like that! Oh! We could have a sleepover together, and watch movies, and paint our nails, and talk about boys, and study language!"

"Gods, help me…" Weiss whimpered, Ruby leaning into the conversation with the other two bubby members, tossing in her own suggestions on what they could do together. When Ruby turned to Weiss, smiling widely, Weiss amended her statement, "Gods, please, kill me now and spare me this."

Of course, the gods didn't seem willing to help her or Ren in any way, the young man leaning his head against the bulkhead and sighing. But still, when he heard Nora chuckle, he couldn't help it.

And he smiled.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Short chapter this time, mainly serving as a bridge-between, and answering some questions and concerns you precious people raised. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, short as it was, I may have spent too much time on Re:Programmed this week and resulted in a shorter chapter.**_

 _ **Apologies.**_

 _ **Next chapter, the arc against the White Fang begins, and everything that involves with it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as you did this arc. It will also, possibly, be the final arc followed by an epilogue chapter.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Whuh :**_

 _ **Kinda sorta just happened to him, and he had to adapt. Though, you'll note, he did questio it here.**_

 _ **My Spleen :**_

 _ **Nah, I think to Jaune, meteing out he judgement would be enough. Especially when Ironwood expressed that he himself had caused all these deaths already with his actions. Simply ending it so they could move on felt more 'Jaune' to me.**_

 _ **JCH 529 :**_

 _ **Indeed. And looking at your profile picture, I ship it.**_


	20. A Knight and a Feast

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I am now, thanks to Supporters as listed above, stable and safe and working regularly on Fanfictions and an original, private project called Re:Programmed. Details**_ **will** _**be starting to come out within the next couple of months once I find an adequate animator.**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~!**_

 _ **And with that budget I will no longer be working like a slave, yas.**_

 _ ***hears whip cracking***_

 _ ***whimpers***_

 _ **And onto tonight's wonderful tale…~Voltegeist**_

 _ **Ignore him, I haven't given him a sock yet ~ Twisted**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"So…" Ruby started, because of course she would, standing on the cliff edge and surrounded by her family, looking at an amused Salem who had her arms crossed, "You're, uh, prettier than I imagined? No, that's not what I meant, that was mean…"

"Gods damn it, Ruby…" Weiss sighed, pressing her palm to her forehead while Salem and Jaune watched, standing together. The Schnee glanced from the Queen of the Grimm to Jaune's mask and sighed, "I know it's fairly obvious, Jaune, but you could at least make some introductions, you know. Rather than leave us standing here like a bunch of cretins. Everyone is either terrified, too tired for this, or flailing like a child-"

"Hey!"

"-because no one in the current century is taught how to interact with royalty." She waved a hand at Salem when she chuckled, shaking her head, and added, "And no one is trained for _this_ in the history of our species. An bloody introduction wouldn't hurt anyone involved, I should think."

"Are you actually chastising him in front of the Queen of the damn Grimm?" Ren asked, as though something had _finally_ shocked Lie Ren. Weiss simply stared him down and he shrugged, "I just felt it bore mentioning."

"My, this is the most amusing little display I have seen in quite some time, Jaune." He gave her a sidelong glance, arms crossed and head tilted at her sourly, Pyrrha and Neo both behind him with Cinder on his flank, and she barked another harsh laugh, "Oh, don't be so sour, Jaune. Today is a day of celebration, not sour glares through an armored mask."

"I, am Salem al Ra'an T'orsk'an." She said quickly, Jaune blinking at the surname - or what had to be one - and she chuckled, eyes losing focus for a moment, "Or at least, that was my name, a long time ago. Before Ozpin created what I am today, what stands before you…" She shook herself, taking a breath, and smiled, "Forgive me, I have not said that name in a long, long time, and it brought back some memories."

The group was quiet for a moment before Ruby, because of _course_ , said, "That's, uh, a pretty name?" Every eye snapped to her and she shrank in on herself, shoulders scrunched and pushing her index fingers together shyly, "What? I don't know what to say… This is weird, that's all."

"Quite." Salem agreed, smiling warmly and turning to Jaune fully, ignoring the others, "The castle and its buildings were reconstructed exactly as before, you should have no trouble finding your way around, Jaune. You or Neo, there, for that matter. I have not, however, replaced my staff after your little rescue."

"I think we'll survive." Jaune ground out, hand rising to rest on the pommel of his sword comfortably. Several of his group stiffened, and then relaxed when they saw his own hand unclasped and lax. "Most of us didn't grow up with butlers and maids, so I think we can manage without you getting slaves to work for us."

"I don't like to call them slaves, but as you say, Jaune." She inclined her head politely, then returned her dark gaze to his, this time speaking more meaningfully. And threateningly as well. "Do not forget our bargain, though, Jaune. I will have what I desire, and what you offered to me, or you shall learn the truths of hell and a woman scorned most intimately. But I trust you know this."

"I do." He growled, moving between the others and her protectively. Cinder's fingers sparked with electricity and fire, barely embers Jaune couldn't have seen, but he raised his off hand towards her commandingly even so. "You don't need to try and threaten me, Salem. An Arc never breaks his word, not unless he is betrayed first."

"An interesting addendum on that family motto of yours, Jaune." Salem complimented, turning and striding away from the cliff towards the distant castle as the craft they'd come in slowly lifted off the ground and turned, rocketing away. "Come, now, I wish to show my guests to their new home, temporary or not."

Exchanging glances, they moved to follow her, some warily and others not as much. Jaune and his more experienced group weren't afraid of Cinder, of the myriad Grimm wandering the grounds of the castle and around it, but the others were. Instincts were funny like that, it too hours upon months to actually pound an instinct out of someone and get them to ignore what the bestial part of their minds demanded of them.

They walked in silence for a couple minutes before Cinder noted Ruby's fear, several Beowolves growling lowly at her, and chuckled, "Grimm are attracted by fear, and anger, and grief, Silver-Eyed Child. You know this, don't you?" Ruby's face was confused, and Jaune's mirrored it behind his visor, but the youngest among them just nodded and Salem asked, "Then why are you so openly fearful of them? That will only incense them, even given your particular condition."

"My… mom was killed by Beowolves, when I was little, so I've always, you know…" She shrugged weakly, unsure of what to say next and obvious about that, and she nodded her head to either side, "I'm not, you know, _scared_ \- not really, I mean - they just… Hit close to home, I guess."

"That is sensible enough, I suppose, child." Salem said after a full half-minute, actually slowing her pace so Ruby could match her and offering a small, thin smile, one that to Jaune actually managed to reach her eyes. An odd effect on her dark, sinister orbs, but it was there nonetheless. "For what it is worth, I wish you to have my condolences. My Grimm ma have taken her life, but I wish you to know I did not order it. Nor do I order every action my children undertake."

"Aren't you their ruler, though?" Ren asked, a tinge of _something_ in his voice that Jaune couldn't place without his Semblance. And frankly, he still held some distaste for violating his friends' minds when he could help it. Salem hummed her question, and Ren explained, "Typically, subjects act at their ruler's command. That's true among people, I don't see why your monsters would be any different."

"First, I would be very grateful if you did not insult my creations so wantonly. I have done naught to you and would thank you to be the least bit respectful, given that I have opened my home to you. _After_ you killed me in it, as well, I should add." When he didn't respond aside form a grimace, Salem sighed and continued on regardless, "And no, young man, they do not simply await my commands. The vast majority, and in fact practically all of them, will live and die without a word from me. I haven't the time or mental fortitude to assume direct control permanently of more than a handful of my Grimm, much less the trillions which breathe this moment."

"That makes sense, given that you said earlier you were once a human." Weiss offered as diplomatically as anyone could hope, even for a Schnee like her, to manage surrounded by Grimm and speaking to Salem herself. "The human mind is not infinite, it can't withstand so much all at once. I… Would be surprised if it could even _survive_ such an overwhelming sensory overload."

Salem, surprisingly, actually seemed pleased and stopped to face Weiss, "You are quite educated, I see. Impressive, even by Atlesian standards. I suppose that is the Schnee in you, and the fortune that it brings to purchase the best education possible?"

"Yes, your Highness." Weiss responded politely, inclining her head and offering a slight curtsy. "I am just glad that some of the more apparently useless lessons my father insisted upon find themselves pertinent here."

"Quite." Salem nodded, eyes roving over Weiss in search of something while Jaune watched her curiously. Weiss, of course, noticed too and adopted a stiffer, more disciplined stance. Years of her father doing similar likely resonating in her head, forcing a reaction, which drew another pleased smile and even a warm laugh from the dark Queen, "You are quite polite, as well. I had thought having so many humans, and Hunters at that, living in my home would be troublesome."

"I will do my utmost to see to it we are not, your Highness." Weiss promised demurely, voice low and curtsying again, "Keeping Ruby in check is the only hard task, truly. The others tend to keep to themselves well enough, so far as I know. We will be the best of houseguests, assuming I have my way of things."

"Jaune does as well, unfortunately, as do his companions. So do not be a stranger, dear… Weiss, was it?" She tried, holding a finger towards her and smiling even wider when the Schnee nodded. "I had believed it so, yes. As I said, don't be a stranger. And that goes to all of you. I will need to adjust to having so many here, but feel free to speak to a Seer or myself directly if you need anything or simply wish to speak. My servants as well, are at your disposal, within reason. I have… missed having people to speak with who aren't mere servants."

Turning without waiting for a response, she continued leading them to the castle and speaking as well, "I have not, unfortunately, constructed private accomodations for you all. The servants' quarters will have to suffice, and Doctor Watts is seeing to having them better furnished within the week. It would be quicker, but Atlas is sadly on lockdown at the moment, I'm afraid."

And gods did she sound smug when she said that, though Jaune wouldn't point it out.

After another minute, as they closed with the castle, Ruby once again broke the silence that descended, "You, uh, you keep calling me 'silver eyed', Miss Salem." The Grimm Queen hummed her question once again, turning to look at the girl at her side and sparing Jaune a glance behind the two of them, before Ruby added, "Uh, Headmaster Ozpin, he mentioned them too. A while ago, so I was wondering if you, um, knew why?"

"Why he mentioned it?" Salem asked, clearly teasing the girl, "Or why I mentioned it?"

"Um, yes?" Ruby tried, making an admittedly cute face, "Both, I guess? If you, you know, know why _he_ said it too, I mean."

"Silver Eyed Warriors are a breed apart. Mystical in their own rights, in a separate way from the Maidens who garnered their own powers from Ozpin so long ago that the facts of how and when would give you nothing." Salem answered, her gaze meeting Ruby's silvery eyes for a moment before she winced and returned to gazing at her forehead instead, "They predate even me, so I can offer you little, aside from that they can grant great power in times of duress and obliterate Grimm. Thought it exhausts the wielder, almost exclusively to unconsciousness, which plays a large part in its rarity."

"It doesn't matter if you slaughter a thousand Grimm, if you are helpless to the ten left after." Cinder explained for Ruby, "The loss of consciousness likely ends with the wielders being slaughtered where they fall."

"Which means less of them bare children with the same eyes, and the trait becomes ever rarer." Salem finished, nodding and offering the suddenly nervous Ruby a small smile, "Relax, little Rose, if you do not hold my outward appearance against me, I see no real reason to hold yours against you. You've nothing to fear from me. I promise you that much, and for purely selfish reasons, so you can trust my words on this matter if nothing else."

"Okay, uh, thanks." Ruby answered, forcing a nervous smile, "I, uh, I won't hold how you look against you either you know. I always hate when people do that to me, just because I'm short."

"Cute, polite, powerful…" Salem chuckled, shaking her head at a joke no one understood but her. "You are surrounded by appealing women, Jaune, and you choose a small psychopath over the lot of them. How odd. I suppose there truly is no accounting for taste, after all, is there."

She was baiting him, and Jaune knew it, forcing himself to ignore the barb and simply grunting, "Just depends on the kinds of tastes a person has, Salem." He caught Neo's eye through his visor and smile, "And circumstances can breed more than just platonic attachments, sometimes."

"So long as she doesn't mind you sharing a bed with another, from time to time. I'm a woman who has not suffered a man's touch in a long time, you know, and I have your agreement to satisfy that requirement of our alliance." Salem countered, Ruby flushing brightly behind her at the mere suggestion of Jaune and Salem doing _anything_ intimate. Jaune simply scowled, and Neo turned to stare at the ground as they walked, and Salem let out a surprisingly good-humored sigh, "Brothers, act like that's a _worse_ proposition. Make it sting a bit more. It's the veins, isn't it?"

"Not really, no." Jaune sighed, shaking his head, "I'm just loyal like that. I don't like being intimate with someone who isn't Neo, not like that at least. It's nothing to do with you, honestly, Salem."

"He has rejected mine and Cinder's own advances as well." Pyrrha offered, trying to back him up, and managing to get the rest of his friends' eyes locked onto him accusingly. He sighed, and Pyrrha noticed them as well, chuckling, "He has also expressed a respect for us, as well, that draws the line. In honesty, his truly honorable nature betrays my desires a bit, there."

"I live in a world where every woman of prestige I know, is struggling for _Jaune's_ attention." Weiss sighed, shaking her head, "What kind of world is this? Truly, a hell beyond imagining, that is what this is."

"At the least, it is one in which you live, and get to attend a feast in a land scant few men or women have ever laid foot on without it costing them their lives." Salem offered, no doubt as mocking as it was helpful, "Congratulations are in order, on braving such scarcely crossed waters, Schnee."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"That is indeed the settlement he hails from, Taurus." Yuma answered, standing just inside the entrance to Adam's tent and voice low. Beside Adam stood a pensive Banesaw, arm still bandaged from the debacle at Mountain Glenn. "The Atlesians are nowhere to be seen, and so it is their scant garrison and militia that protect the place's walls. Nothing compared to trained fighters, like ours. And given what our scouts and contacts both reported happening north of here..."

"Reinforcements are not likely to come." Banesaw finished quietly, drumming his fingers on the handle of his saw in thought and watching Adam closely. Swallowing, he tried for the third time to speak to his old comrade, "This place, Ansel, it is not one we should attack. The Arcs have ever been uncaring for race, and even today I saw a third of their guard made up of Faunus. Our kinsmen."

"Our kinsmen, Banesaw, are White Fang and no one else. Not a single one of those Faunus out there, or the traitors in Vale, are our kinsmen." Adam corrected him, growling the words yet again as he turned to glare at the larger man. "They are enemies of the Faunus across the world. No exceptions."

"And what, you intend to slaughter every Human and Faunus not pledged to our cause?" He demanded quietly, careful to keep any heat from his voice. He'd seen what happened to those Adam labelled traitors and deserters. He did not intend to suffer that fate, not if he could sway Adam to a better path. When the man didn't respond, Banesaw huffed, "If you do that, then _both_ peoples will be driven into extinction. The only ones that win that fight are the Grimm. Have you worn that mask so long that you think them your ally now, instead of your own people?"

"The White Fang are my people, not the Grimm or anyone else whatsoever, and we will discuss this after we deal with the Arcs." Adam asserted simply, turning back to Yuma, "I want another check on the Atlesian fortification. Make certain that no one is there, and set traps for anyone that may come."

"Yes, Adam." Yuma responded shortly, inclining his head almost reverently. Too reverently, for Banesaw's tastes, but he knew better than to say that. "I will see it done immediately, if that is all, Sir."

"You have it. Get it done and get back here, and do not get spotted. That much goes without saying, though, of course. You know the price of failing, too, so that doesn't bare repeating either." The man turned without another word, pushing out of the dark tent and moving off to his tasks. For a long moment, the two White Fang fighters stood in silence, until Adam broke it, "You are questioning my orders a lot lately, Banesaw."

"I thought it was my job, offering advice and trying to keep things running." He responded simply, rushing to add, "I don't view it as challenging you, or anything like that, Adam. You know I wouldn't challenge your orders. I've always been loyal to you, and to our cause, Adam."

"I know, I know, you're right." He sighed, turning to look at him and smiling thinly, reaching up to finger one of his horns gingerly. A Beowolf had clipped it earlier in the week, sheer luck, and he'd been checking it since on occasion. "Since you're loyal, would you do me a favor and oversee the traitors we caught a few days ago being marked? Normally, I would, but I need to plan the attack with Yuma."

"I…" Banesaw swallowed, grip tightening on his saw until his hand ached, and then he nodded his head, "Of course, Adam. I'll go now, and deal with it, if you don't have anything else you wanted to speak to me about?"

"No." Adam turned back to the map on the table, leaning on both hands, "Go, deal with that, and then get some rest. We've all had a long couple of weeks, and I need my commanders at their best. Consider it an order, if you feel like you don't need the rest. I know how damn stubborn you can be, sometimes."

"I understand. Good luck in planning out your assault, Adam." He nodded, and turned to leave the tent before Adam could say anything else.

Outside, the camp itself was small, two dozen fighters and six prisoners in the center of a large circle of tents tucked against a mountain wall out of sight of Ansel. Thick trees and brush hid the tents from view as best could be hoped in such numbers, small branches and limbs hanging above by strings and laid across the tops, bushes along the tent circle naturally and with false bushes intermingled into what almost looked like a tall hedge of brush and limbs around them.

The traitors were stripped to near-nakedness, two women and four men, arms tied behind their backs and gags fixed to their mouths. A small metal brazier sat next to the camp's main fire, a pair of tongs beside it and a blade heating in the fire. "Banesaw?"

He approached the Bear-Faunus leaning against the brazier, protected from the heat by a thick leather vest, and asked, "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, but…" Banesaw shot the man a warning glance, and the man swallowed, nodding his head more firmly this time and answering in a louder voice, "Get the traitors ready. We have a long night ahead of us, it seems, so let's get started, shall we?"

When the first man was pulled forward, and he felt the blade at his antlers, he managed to just catch a glimpse of Banesaw's back as he ducked out of the camp. And the Faunus knew why he'd done that, and understood. They were a distraction for him to get away and deal with something.

That didn't help the pain when the burning started, the hot blade sawing at the base of his horns and searing the flesh, though. Not even a bit.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

True to her word, when they made it to the great hall where Salem often held her meetings, Watts was absent and the table was filled with food and drink. Tyrian stood at the far end of the table, next to the tall chair Salem always sat in, and offered a small wave, "Hello, Jaune, it has been _such_ a long while since I saw you."

"Tyrian." He nodded, more than wary of the scorpion Faunus across from him. "It's… Yeah, it's been a minute, I guess."

Salem, of course, simply trode to her seat without paying any realmind to the tense group of teens and fighters, taking her seat and reaching for a napkin before pretending to notice their apprehension and slapping Tyrian's arm gently, "Behave, and do not aggravate our guests, Tyrian. Regardless of past… disagreements between us, you are not to so flagrantly insult and aggravate them as I am sure you would like."

"Of course, my Goddess." He murmured, sounding put off a bit but of course deferring to the Grimm Queen's words. He always did. Seeming to brighten, he gestured at the food on the table, "Venison, pork, steaks, greens from Vale, all cooked to perfection. I tried to get some fish in, but it spoiled, and-"

"You cooked?" Cinder asked suddenly, Jaune turning to look at her where the group stood. When the man answered that yes, he had indeed cooked, she was the first to move towards her seat, leaving two between herself and Salem for Jaune and Neo, before quickly explaining, "Tyrian is one of the best cooks I have ever known. It's truly remarkable, Master, please have a seat and eat."

"Quite." Salem said smiling and chuckling to herself, looking to Jaune, "We can discuss matters of import later, Jaune. For now, we've much to celebrate, and much to mourn. I understand your losses, of friends and near-family. Among my people, a feast was how we commemorated such events."

"You organized this for Roman?" Jaune asked after a moment, surprised.

"No." She answered, looking to the youngest members of the group, and the newest guests in her home. "I wished to offer a chance to commemorate _all_ our losses. I understand your friends lost one of their own, as well. For wounds old and new alike. I felt it would be a good foot forward, so to speak."

"You…" Ruby sounded upset, but not in a way that Jaune found worrying. She sounded… he didn't know, really, and couldn't without his helmet. And that seemed wrong to him, that he couldn't even empathise with whatever she felt without his Semblance to tell him. Eventually, Ruby found the right words, "Thank you, Salem. I think we all can appreciate the gesture."

"Then please," she gestured at the table and the seats around it, smiling so warmly that for a moment even for Jaune how she looked didn't matter and she seemed… Human. "Have a seat at my table. Eat, drink, talk and relax. Tell tales of your lost family, and friends, and celebrate them with me. All of us have tales to share."

"Including you?" Jaune asked, watching his friends find their seats, Tyrian sitting on Salem's other side beside Ruby. She gave him a look and he smiled at her, drawing an awkward chuckle from the girl.

"Of course." She answered, gesturing to the seat beside her and waiting until he took it before speaking, "Customarily, after all, the host always shares their tale first while their guests eat. So, you know my name, but not much else. I hail from a place whose name no longer is known, and once served as what you might call a Huntress now. Then, I met the man you now call Ozpin… And that was the beginning of the end, for the way life was lived back then."

"I awakened my Semblance like many others of the time among my people, in a fighting pit, set into the ground and surrounded by silent onlookers.." She continued, sounding almost sadly and letting out a long breath. "In those days, only the strongest of the strong were granted the right to lead our warriors, or fight beside them. And so, after years of gruelling training two hopefuls would go into the arena and fight for it. To the death, always, in the hopes of awakening the victor's Aura naturally and their Semblance with it."

"That's monstrous. And needless as well, when one can simply awaken another's Aura for them and their Semblance will emerge eventually." Weiss offered, the ancient woman smirking at the young Schnee almost chillingly.

"Perhaps to you, now, when you have high walls and advanced technology, as well as numbers, to protect such weaklings until they can stand on their own." Salem conceded, sounding only mildly condescending as she did. "But back when I lived as you and your kind, that was very much not the case. A fighter who could not stand on their own was nothing but a danger, and could not be tolerated. The weak fell in the arena, at the blades of their fellows, where they posed no risk of dragging others under the Grimm with them."

"It makes a terrible kind of sense." Ren agreed, Nora giving him an affronted, almost disgusted look of near-reprisal. He gave her a meaningful look and explained, "I still find it wrong, but in the time… It would make sense that only the strongest got to live. A brutal and artificial form of natural selection. The weak, the ones with less proclivity to natural Aura use, don't survive and that means they don't have children of their own."

"The brutality of life." Salem agreed, nodding to him before returning her gaze to the others around the table, "The trauma of combat, the taking of life from one you know and love… Such emotional shocks can often draw out both a person's Aura and their Semblance. My Aura came in the middle of the fight. My Semblance, as I put my spear through my brother's chest."

"They made you kill your own brother?" Ruby suddenly cried, choking on some food in her mouth. Salem patiently waited for her to swallow, and she added, "That's… Messed up! Why? Why your brother?"

"My family was known to be weak. Many of us fell in the arena, and our family line waned." She explained, "It was believed, at the time, that the greater the emotional shock to a person's mind, the stronger the Semblance that would emerge. And they were right, in a sense. My Semblance cracked to life, and suddenly the silence of the Arena was filled with noise. Words, feelings, things I didn't understand… Roaring at me, _into_ me."

"Your Semblance was the same as mine." Jaune observed quietly from beside her, feeling a pang of sympathy in spite of himself. He'd awoken to Pyrrha's thoughts and not much else, but Salem… Salem had killed her own brother, and felt _everyone_ around her when she did it. "But I didn't need that kind of thing, mine came all on its own."

"Yes, well…" Salem sighed, reaching for her goblet and holding the silver thing out for Tyrian to fill with what had to be wine. He did so quickly, and she took a long drink before she continued, "I did say that those days, our ways weren't always correct. Belief breeds actions borne of faith rather than reason, and in this case that is what happened."

Ruby, because _of course Ruby_ , stood and leaned over the table, laying her hand on Salem's and smiling apologetically, doing her best not to knock anything on the table over. "I'm sorry for your loss, Salem. I really am. Even if you, you know, kinda rule the Grimm now."

Salem snorted a small, surprised laugh, and laid her hand on Ruby's, "Thank you. That you would offer condolences millennia on, for a wound to what ought be seen as levied against someone you ought find evil is…" She laughed again, "A case against every problem Ozpin laid on Human nature, you are."

"What do you mean?" She asked, returning to her seat only somewhat awkwardly, trying to avoid the surprised and almost reverent look Tyrian gave her. When she reached for a roll, though, he was quick to pull the basket towards her so she could get whatever she liked, and she murmured a 'thanks'.

"Ozpin once told me that Humanity and the Faunus both could only be preserved by his methods. That they were doomed to destruction, if anyone tried to change things in a way he deemed risky. It was to him I brought the idea of using my Semblance on the Grimm." She gestured to herself with a bitter smile, "This is what I became, but I was able to control them in the end. And he sought my death for it, and for what I did with my Grimm. Preserving the races of man with a common, powerful enemy, but allowing them to prosper where they wished."

"Ozpin started the war between us." She added, sighing and then looking at each of them in turn, "But that is not the purpose of today. Of this feast. Please, young Schnee, tell a story of your own."

To Jaune, and everyone else, the night was… Surprisingly nice, given everything that had happened.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Blaseing fire :**_

 **Stahp guessing all my subtext plot points~ Rude boi~**


	21. A Knight Who Can't Get A Break

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I am now, thanks to Supporters as listed above, stable and safe and working regularly on Fanfictions and an original, private project called Re:Programmed. Details**_ **will** _**be starting to come out within the next couple of months once I find an adequate animator.**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~!**_

 _ **And with that budget I will no longer be working like a slave, yas.**_

 _ ***hears whip cracking***_

 _ ***whimpers***_

 _ **And onto tonight's wonderful tale…~Voltegeist**_

 _ **Ignore him, I haven't given him a sock yet ~ Twisted**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Brief Announcement :**_

 _ **had an incident at the end of last month involving people using fake cards and information, and trying to access other people's accounts and banks. They have sorted the issue but many cards across the site were declined. Everything ought be fine going forward. But please check with your banks to ensure nothing untowards has happened and when safe, check your pledge for any errors related to the incident.**_

 _ **No Supporter list changes will be made in response to these declinations due to this issue. I apologize for any inconveniences that result from it.**_

 _ **Now, Chapter Announcement**_

 _ **This chapter is not Jaune focused, it is Adam/Ansel focused. Please understand he is a terrorist, and view the actions, justifications for them written, and so on through the lens of 'Adam' rather than me. Thank you.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Adam heard the flap of his tent open a few minutes later and, without turning and in a low and nearly pained voice, asked, "Were you correct about him after all, Yuma?"

"Yes." He answered, approaching slowly and throwing the upper half of Banesaw's mask onto the table in front of Adam. "His wounds were too great to face me in any real fight and he fell easily enough. Out of sight and with distance from the Human settlement."

"Of course they were, he was in reach of the explosion at Mountain Glenn." Adam sighed, shaking his head and turning to look at Yuma, the winged Faunus standing just inside the tent and at attention. He bore a couple small scratches from the fight, but in all likelihood the damage ended there. "How is the Grimm presence in the area? We can't withstand an attack on our rear by them, and the punishments last night may have drawn some in."

"Sparse, and of negligible strength and number, Adam." Yuma reported dutifully, "I have three of our best fighters in the area, dealing with any Grimm who might end up being a threat to our operation."

"Wise decision." Adam nodded, "And the jamming devices from Vacuo?"

"Being moved into position now, Adam." Yuma answered, moving past him and gesturing at the mountains surrounding Ansel with his finger, "Five of them, in a semi-circle on the lower peaks around the settlement, with a pair of guards to each. Five fighters in the forest and four more guarding the prisoners leave us with a ten man crew for your plan."

"Plenty." Adam nodded, smiling viciously at the map in front of him and leaning on the thin, shoddily made table. "By tomorrow, I want the Arc Manor to be rubble. Kill any who get in your way, but remember to brief everyone that this is a stealth raid. We aren't here for blood, only for fire. At least for today."

"I will ensure that they understand this fact, and assign roles, if you permit." He nodded, and Yuma turned to leave, pushing out the flap of Adam's tent and walking away to see to his duties.

When he was finally alone, Adam turned and made his way to the cot lying to the side of the small, spartan tent, and knelt by it. Under it was a simple, unornamented wooden box, and inside that simple container lay the shattered and blackened remains of Gambol shroud and a foot of Blake's ribbon. It was tattered on both ends, and singed with dark spots intermingled with a smattering of ash and soot. Absolutely filthy, and Blake would have hated to see it that way. She'd have set to scrubbing it clean, repaired it, trimmed the edges maybe so she could wear it over her ears.

So she could hide what she was, and who. Because that was the kind of world she lived in, and she couldn't stand what had to be done to change that. She was weak, a coward, a deserter and a traitor. Like Banesaw, and many others now, who had stabbed the White Fang in the back because of their own desires. Their own wishes outweighing everything else to them, everything that they had fought for up until that time and everything that others had sacrificed so much for. That some had _died_ for.

And yet, he still had to fight back the emotions that threatened to overwhelmed him, clenching that ruined ribbon in his fist and growling, "No one will have to make the choices you did, Blake. Never again, after this last war is over. I swear to you. I will make it so that no Faunus needs to make the choice to fight, or accept being treated like some animal. Even if I have to die for it."

Standing, he tied the ribbon taut around the sheath of his sword, letting the length left over hang down its length in two short, flowing ribbons, and held the sword up, "But first, you have to be avenged, my love. And you will be. I will take from him everything he loves, starting with his home."

Finally, he laid the weapon aside and crawled onto the cot, closing his eyes and taking his mask off so he could rest.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"How do you strike your _own_ forehead with a training shortsword?" Pyrrha snorted, laughing genuinely as he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. The Mistralian champion snorted a laugh, teasing the young knight, "I have spent years sparring, and never seen someone manage such, Jaune, forgive me."

"Coral was a better fighter than me, Pyr, and probably still is. And she had _two_ swords, too, which was kinda unfair. Here, lemme just..." He held up a knife and fork, pantomiming catching the knife between two of the forks and then jerking it back towards himself a couple times, "She kinda did that."

"Did she at least think to say the, oh, how does it go?" Salem waved her hand a few times in the air in a small circle, searching for the answer before sighing, "Something about… Slapping yourself, but I've only heard the phrase a couple times in the last century or so and these things run together."

"No." He sighed, dropping the silverware on the table with a groan because he knew how they'd react to the next part. "She did not tell me to stop hitting myself. She was, uh, too busy laughing at me, actually, so I don't think that she thought about it. Uh, look, Ruby, your turn to tell story, right?"

When Ruby began her story, Salem and Jaune both noticed Neo slip away from the table silently, almost invisible were it not for Salem's infinite amount of experience and resistance to the alcohol they were all dabbling in and Jaune's experience with Neo on a more personal level. Even had she used her Semblance, Jaune would have seen her, but since she only slid off her seat and backed away before she turned to walk from the room, it was all the easier to see her.

"Go. She needs her own consoling words and gestures, after what has happened to you and her both." Salem whispered when he looked to her, as much seeking advice as permission, trying not to be rude to the ancient woman after everything. He had to live with her now, and he was not going to start _that_ off on a sour note.

"Can you make some excuses for me?" He murmured back, the ancient royal raising a thin eyebrow at him curiously, a clear enough question to him even without his Semblance to tell him everything. "Maybe a distraction, or something? I don't want everyone to worry, everything is going so well, you know?"

"Tyrian, my child, would you show Jaune where we keep the wine? He seems to enjoy it quite a bit, and has asked if he is allowed to have more later. I feel he doesn't understand how liberally he might make use of what we have here." She asked, the loyal servant - or worshipper, Jaune guessed was more accurate - nodding eagerly and standing quickly while she continued on, "And young Ruby, are you quite sure you won't try any? Mistral's finest drink, this."

He stood, laying a napkin over his plate when Weiss shot him a glare, and followed Tyrian from the room. The man was quick to speak, "You are going to see the little one, yes? Your woman?"

"I…" He hesitated, wary of opening up to Tyrian about something of all people he could talk to, but eventually he sighed. Tyrian was a psychotic cultist, or something like that at least, and worshipped Salem like his goddess, but that granted the man some loyalty to Jaune as well. If only because of Salem's respect and affection for him. "Yeah. She's still upset over Roman, I think, and I don't think what went down with Ironwood was to her liking either. She wanted to, uh, 'make him pay'. If you, uh, know what I mean."

"A sadistic, cruel little thing." Tyrian sing-songed brightly as they descended a staircase, Jaune nodding too himself and waiting to see if the scorpion meant that as an insult. "Like a flower, I think. Pretty to look at, and it smells sweet, but you had best keep your hands away from it, or it will dig its thorns into you with glee."

"Yeah. I don't think Neo would like being called a 'flower' though. She is the kind that would have thorns, though, if she was one." He pointed out as the Faunus pushed open a door at the bottom of the long stairs.

Inside were dozens of racks of bottles, and casks at the back, inside a cool room that Jaune would have sworn came right out of an old Raggy Doo cartoon episode. Tyrian showed him in, shutting the door behind them, and then led him through the rows of dark bottles filled with their red liquid, gently lit by cool lights above his head.

"If she is upset, that I would wager that you ought take some drink with you. Something more for taste that to lose yourself to it, and something that is appropriate to the person, if possible..." Tyrian suggested, running a finger over labels as they walked, looking for something. Finally, he clicked his tongue, and pulled a small bottle off a shelf with several others just like it, "Ah, Mistralian Brachetto d'Acqui. Sweet, not too hard, and comes in a small, decorative bottle."

"Would you be offended if I said I didn't think you'd be a wine guy?" Jaune asked, taking the bottle from him when he offered it. "My dad always said it was a drink for sissies, you know?"

"My boy, wine-drinkers conquered all of Mistral and Vacuo during the ancient days of the Old Empire." He chastised, smiling warmly to show he was at least mostly joking. Even if on Tyrian's face it seemed all the more sinister and cruel to smile in… Almost any situation. It always struck as over-eager, and not quite right. "Now shoo! You have a young flower to hold, and thorns to try your hand at dodging. And remember, pulsing your Aura in your nogging can help clear up drunkenness, at least somewhat."

He rolled his eyes again, but turned and left the wine-cellar without arguing. He could feel the ever-so-slight warmth in his head and did as Tyrian suggested, focusing his Aura into his head like he would any wound. He was only slightly surprised when Tyrian proved right, and the warmth faded a bit, that slight bit of fog and warmth that had been settled on his shoulders pulling away just a bit.

It hadn't bothered him, really, but he preferred a clearer head when he had important things to do. At least generally.

"Hey, Neo." He called when he entered his little apartment, or at least that was what he called it, and saw her laid across the back of his couch in her leotard, stretching boredly. She turned to blink owlishly at him, and he set the helmet on a small table by the door, asking, "Are you okay? I saw you slip away from the table."

" _Just a bit upset, that's all. And not about Roman or Irondick. I'm… I'm good with that, I guess, or as good as I can be."_ She answered, turning to watch a movie playing on the screen. The same one they'd watched together way back when, he noticed. " _So if you're, you know, whatever to Salem now, what does that make us now? Am I just your side-thing, or what?"_

"No, you're not…" He sighed quietly, shaking his head. He'd guessed wrong, then, about what had bothered her. Walking over to the couch, he kicked off his boots and started unbuckling his armor, "You aren't my side-anything, Neo. I made very clear to Salem that you came first in all of that. But she plans to make me immortal, and so after… So later on, I guess, she wants us together."

" _After I'm dead, you mean. After I die of old age or whatever else, she wants you to hop into bed with her."_ She pointed out, not actually putting any heat into the words. Neo was surprisingly not petty like that, simply preferring to argue facts of a situation, unless you _really_ pissed her off. " _Right?"_

"That's the idea, I think." He agreed, tossing the upper half of his armor onto a chair and walking past the couch towards some dressers, fishing for a change of clothes. "Honestly? Not too thrilled by the idea, in a lot of ways. But that was her demand for helping us. We couldn't handle Atlas itself without her, Neo."

" _I know."_ She responded, sounding more tired than anything else. " _Just selfish of me, I guess. I don't want to be replaced like that. I mean, if you just fucked her now and again, that'd be one thing. But she wants you to trade my bed for hers, when I take a dirt nap, and that feels… I don't know, I just don't like it."_

"I know, and neither do I." He agreed, joining her on the couch finally in a loose cotton shirt, laying his head against her stomach where she lay. "I'm sorry about it, Neo, but… I don't know what else I could have done."

" _S'fine."_ She shrugged, rolling off the couch and then hopping over the back to lay on the couch itself, with her head in his lap. " _I'll just have to get over it. Just how the situation it is. So can we just shush and cuddle on the couch for a bit?"_

"Sure." He agreed, playing with her hair idly with a hand. "Never actually finished this movie anyways, and I'm kinda curious what happens."

" _Everyone dies, and then I suck your dick."_ She answered frankly, Jaune snorting a laugh at the answer.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"It's ab- -ime, -uma. -now, -ll come as- on as -our signal-" The flying Faunus heard the words crackling weakly in his ear, cut off and barely discernible through the static, choking on each other and sometimes delaying a moment before rushing forward. "-aiting on- -r signal, -ma. -n't waste -ime"

Yuma had already worked with these jammers before, and their paired radios. Small squares, about the size of a saucer and twice as thick, with a small antenna that stuck out of the top, which hung on the back of his waist and hanged their securely with the help of several thick, leather straps. A small, coiled cord wound from the bottom and around his waist, then up his stomach and the side of his chest, then up under the dark leather hunter's hood he wore and attached to the side of his pristine porcelain White Fang mask, made especially for him with a wider visor instead of just using simple eye-holes. His role was equal parts scout and saboteur, and both roles required the ability to see far better than the common combatant would ever expect to need.

He circled high above Ansel for another couple minutes, watching the settlement far below. None of the guards carried lights, though several braziers were lit at steady intervals just behind the wall, where guards sat and warmed themselves when it wasn't their turn to walk the fortified expanse. Several more, these ones carrying torches - likely for the Humans living there more than anything else - patrolled the roads among the homes and shops in groups of three. Too many for even Yuma himself to handle silently, one of them would either get away or cry out and alert others.

And he couldn't escape terribly easily, he was more of a glider than anything else. He could try and get away by flying up in small circles, but that wasn't fast enough to escape active guards hunting for him. And he knew what that would cause Adam to do, the man wouldn't be willing to risk someone as useful as him _or_ the operation as a whole. He'd order what men they had to attack, and hope for the best, because after tonight they wouldn't have the element of surprise. Ansel would know they were under threat, and call for help. And then the jammers would be pointless completely, assuming they didn't realize they'd been jammed and find a countermeasure. And there would go their biggest advantage outside of him being able to fly so high above them.

He grunted behind his scarf when a bid fluttered by suddenly, and turned to watch it fly away while he glided along in a circle. Small, black, with… White feathers or something he couldn't make out, it soared away so quickly. But why would a bird like that, with its lithe shape and fluttery flying, be out in the middle of the night in the first place?

No matter, he decided after a moment, returning to searching for a suitable distraction. He'd brought a trio of small flame-grenades with him for the job. Thinking, he circled towards the manor itself, and then back towards the gate, before plucking them from his belt and pressing down the trigger as he descended. He let them fall on several small, clustered houses, one after another so they'd spread out in the arc he glided over them in. The fuses were short, only thirty seconds, and he pumped his wings until they ached to get range on them, headed towards one of the mountains around the settlement.

When he landed, he heard several muted thumps, and turned in time to see the settlement light up from the fire and the lights cast by homes and surprised people, all turning towards the fire and away from the gate. Many of the guards at the wall turned from it, some running towards the fire, some staying, but within a minute none were looking outside the settlement at all.

As all eyes were turned inward, and Yuma smiled as he reached around and switched on his end of the communicator, speaking three times for safety, "Go, go, go."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Adam and his small force spread out wide, a dozen feet apart almost to the last, with Adam at the center. Behind them as they ran, rifles hanging on their backs and swords in their fists, sprinting through the crops. Every now and then, half their number would drop a small orb like the one Yuma had obviously used for their distraction among the crops, for their exit later.

When he reached the wall, Adam leapt high landing beside a guard and watching the Doe turn to him slowly, surprised. She blinked owlishly at him, eyes widening after a second, "You-"

His blade cut through her throat and threw her head over the wall, and he grabbed it by the front of her shirt to throw her body with it. All along the wall, his fellows did similar, the grunts and cut-off cries lost in the din the people of the settlement desperately flocking to fight the fires burning on the western side of the settlement. His fighters closed with him, and then as a group they headed to the eastern side of the settlement, to head in from there along one of the many roads.

Along the way, they cut down anyone who saw them without the slightest mercy or hesitation - guard or otherwise - and within less than a minute reached the Manor proper. Or one end of it, at least, the group massing under tall windows set into stone walls and regrouping there to catch their breath and find their way inside. The damn building's layout hadn't been on any records they could get, so they hadn't been able to plan out their way in.

Distantly, he could see blonde hair fighting the fires nearest to the building. Several mops of it, in fact, and mostly women. A family, it had to be, from the way the oldest woman was holding a couple of the smaller ones. The Arcs were the only family of that size, with that many girls in it.

Jaune's family, then.

"Sir," he turned, looking at one of the Grunts with him, and the young man reported, "We found a service entrance, Sir. It's the best we've found, and we can't stay out here for much longer. Not unless we want a much bigger fight on our hands, at least."

"Then use it." Adam ordered, catching movement in the corner of his eyes and spinning, drawing a thin knife from the other White Fang Grunt's waist, and hurling it without a thought.

A bird on a fence near him fluttered away, red eyes seeming to peer at him accusingly, and Adam's eyes narrowed, the Grunt asking, "Why is a bird out here? And what kind of bird has bright red eyes like that?"

"Get inside and plant the bombs. I will… Guard out exit." Adam ordered, the Grunt nodding and turning to run back to the others and relay his orders. He watched them until they disappeared down into into a small access-way, like something out of a movie.

He took a step to follow, and then looked back at the family, eyes narrowing as an idea came to mind and he fished a small detonator out of his jacket. One of two, one matched to the bombs his men were carrying and the other to the bombs in the fields. The Arcs were coordinating fire-fighting from here, only the patriarch of the family and an older daughter still her with the mother and the youngest. The others had to have run off, coordinating elsewhere, so if he blew the bombs in the field _now_ …

The bombs went off without much fanfare, smoke simply starting to billow to the south of the settlement, and he smiled as the patriarch seemed to swear and moved off with the other Arc. Just a mother, a couple children, and a single young man guarding them, barely a dozen feet away from him. And none were paying him any attention at all as he closed with them, unnoticed in the chaos in front of them.

"Excuse me, but you're Jaune's mother, correct?" He asked quietly, standing just behind her.

"Yes, I-" She turned, a confused face until her eyes fell to his blade, the red edge gleaming menacingly in the firelight, and her eyes widened. "No, Guar-" Before the guardsman in front of her even turned, her head was falling and he was leaping over it.

"Missus Arc!" The young man cried, staggered away as his shield took the first strike from Adam's sword. Barely even a swing, by his standards, but he'd buckled under it. "No, no, no, damnit no! You son of a bitch!"

The man snarled another insult at him, but Adam lost in the children behind him screaming and the fire roaring, and brought his spear back to thrust towards him. He batted it aside with the flat of his blide, raising it and cutting down in the same motion to shatter the weapon and then tuning, slamming his foot into the man's chest to push him back and bringing the blade whistling around again, up and then down at the shoulder where his shield arm attached to the rest of him.

He cried as his arm fell away, stumbling and then collapsing, the broken shaft of the spear rolling away as Adam moved towards him. His foot slammed down on the young guard's chest and he hoisted the blade high, point held down towards him, intent to finish the young man.

"Hey!" He turned, a rock bouncing off his mask, smiling at the small child glaring at him, "L-Leave him alone, you big bully!"

"No, don't help me, run away before-" His blade flicked out, the body under him stiffening before going still once again, and Adam stepped off the body and towards the kids.

One glared at him while the other hugged her dead mother, and he smiled even more widely when she saw the broken spear point and dove for it. His foot slammed down on her back and forced her into the ground, his sword burying itself in her heart inside a second. Quick, clean, painless.

The least he could do for someone whose only crime was her relation to that Arc bastard. He cost Adam loved ones, so his were what he would lose as well.

Seeing him draw his blade from the girl finally had the other twin scream, the kind of shrill sound only a child produced, as he moved towards her. He drew his blade back to strike, grimacing, and she looked at him and screamed. No, she wasn't looking at _him_ -

He leapt to the side, rolling across the dirt and coming up a foot away, glaring in shock at a Gryphon. The beast snapped its jaws at him and then lunged to the side, _between_ himself and the girl. The girl curled up next to her mother, barely a few inches from its front claws, and Adam _saw_ the Gryphon register her presence. So why…

Why did it seem to be protecting her?

Looking up, another three circled low, snarling at him and ignoring practically everything else. Past the one in front of him, he saw his fighters emerge from the service entrance once again, and made a sour face. The Arcs themselves could wait, and he'd already killed two or three - based on the guardsman's appearance, at least - of them. And he could hear guards coming, and a bass voice bellowing in rage.

Turning, he saw the Arc patriarch barreling towards him with half-a-dozen fighters around him, and sighed. Between them and the suddenly helpful _Grimm_ , he wouldn't be able to win. And he was no good too anyone dead. The cause of the White Fang, and justice for Blake, would all fall to dust without him.

Time for a retreat, then.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"It's the White Fang." Salem answered, standing outside the building Jaune had once more taken residence in. The young man, bare of anything but his helmet and some pants, snarled a swear and she elaborated, "I can make out scarcely more than the child's blonde mop, and have directed the Gryphons I sent to attack only those wearing the mask of the White Fang. But questions will come when the child talks about a _Grimm_ coming to her rescue."

"Is my other sister alright?" He asked, voice low as much in shock at his mother's sudden death as anything else. "A-And my other sister, you said Adam kicked her, but-"

"I can't see much, through the Grimm. Not without a Seer present to strengthen the connection. I can hear, if I sit with a Seer and focus, and even see somewhat but it is too dark for that." Salem answered, "The only way to find out, and deal with this new crisis, is to be there yourself."

"What do you want to do, then?" Jaune asked quietly, forcing himself to remain calm regardless of how much anger he felt, stepping out of the door fully and letting it shut behind him. "We don't have a way to get everyone down there fast enough, and we don't have time to wait for one."

"No, to both counts." She responded, the sound of something heavy landing behind her as a Giant Nevermore crouched low, meeting her eyes and chirping lowly at her gaze. "We could, however, make good time with this. Though it can only carry two."

"I'll get Neo up, then, and we can-"

"No." Salem interrupted, smiling pleasantly at him and cocking a hip, her hand laid on it like a mother might when speaking to her child, "No, Neo will not be necessary for this. Especially given our particular arrangement, now. I've an idea I quite like, though I don't think you will feel quite as enthusiastic as I do."

"Then what is this idea you say I won't like?" He demanded hotly, waving a hand around himself in some vague and weal attempt to dispel his frustration and hours ago, he'd been laughing, eating, and telling stories, and now his mother was dead, and maybe more. "We can't stand here playing word games, Salem. Just say what you want to do, alright?"

"Now, I think it is time I met your family, and returned knowledge of my presence to the world." Salem smiled widely, excited and vicious all at the same time, "And this time, I will bring my _personal_ power to bear against those who would strike at your family. _My_ family too, now."

"Alright." Jaune nodded, turning and reaching for the door, "I'll grab a coat, and my sword. I don't have _time_ for my armor right now."

"And I shall have a message left for your friends." She said happily, enough to almost upset Jaune with the news she'd brought, turning to one of her Grimm as he forced himself to forgive it, She'd not gone off the continent for centuries, probably, so she had to be excited. "Send for Tyrian immediately. I need to have words with him."

Inside ten minutes, Tyrian had arrived to take the message, and they were mounted on the massive Grimm. With three great flaps of its wings they were in the air and off, Jaune clinging to Salem's back like it was his only lifeline. A fact she seemed over-joyed by, and a fact that was frankly true, given that he had _no idea_ how to get a grip on the feathers under him, and how she leaned into him when he wrapped his arms around her stomach.

No matter, really. He had to get to Ansel, because _no one_ could just leave him or his loved ones _alone_.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Flametusk :**_

 **I am certainly glad that you are enjoying my story so much. Truly, means the world to me.**

 _ **Blaseing Fire :**_

 **Or perhaps neither are. The stories take place at different times. Ozpins later, hers at the beginning. Essentially, you have the end and the beginning, and nothing else. Assuming, of course, either is being honest.**

 **Also, I** _ **do**_ **have a Discord for theories and talking to me. Not that all the Reviews don't pad my ego out, though. XD**

 _ **Gizmo Gear :**_

 **I need my socks. And my Volte.**

 _ **Nightshade Dawn :**_

 **Glad you're enjoying it.**

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 **About that whole Adam being a monster thing… Yeah…**

 _ **Xealchim**_ _**:**_

 **I mean, not** _ **all**_ **of them…**

 _ **Wolfpackrwby88 :**_

 **Neither. XD**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **Topping it isn't the point, it's the sharing.**

 _ **My Spl33n :**_

 **I hid a** _ **lot**_ **actually. If you fine-tooth comb it and compare to Oz's and hers stories on the matter, you can find some. Not all, but some.**


	22. A Knight Back on the Warpath

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile** _ **\- "That's meeeeee~!" ~ Mika**_

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~!**_

 _ **And with that budget I will no longer be working like a slave, yas.**_

 _ ***hears whip cracking***_

 _ ***whimpers***_

 _ **And onto tonight's wonderful tale…~Voltegeist**_

 _ **Ignore him, I haven't given him a sock yet ~ Twisted**_

 _ **Oh, I am. *Coils whip around an arm* Hello again! Miss me? ~ Mika**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

The distance from Salem's castle to Ansel, even as the crow flew, was a long one. Or maybe he should say 'as the dragon flew' instead, given his particular mount right now?

Not that he cared too much, beyond using the inane technical argument to distract himself from multiple things about his situation. Riding on a great, Grimm dragon, with the Queen of the Grimm - and the damned, given how many people she employed - as his only real handhold to keep him on the creature with the winds whipping against him hard enough to numb his arms. And gods did she seem to enjoy that fact, judging by how many times she'd pressed her hips against his since they'd left.

And normally, that kind of thing would have pissed him off - or repulsed him - just thinking about it. But he couldn't spare the attention to it to _get_ pissed about it, not right now. His vision was full of Salem's back and her robes, his ears full of the heavy thrum of the dragon's wing beats and the violent howling of the wind whistling against his helmet, the cloth on Salem's front gripped tight in his fingers, none of it really registered to him. It couldn't.

His mind only held two things. His pain and grief at the loss of his mother, and possibly his sister as well, along with the ache that he felt at the mere thought that his home had been attacked. By Taurus and his gang of vindictive, racist little pseudo-freedom fighters, for some stupid reason or another. What those might be, Jaune had little more than suspicions, but some of those didn't even make sense.

Ansel, and the Arcs as a family as well almost exclusively with few exceptions throughout their history, had always stood and treated the Faunus as equals. Not from the start of either of their histories, of course, that would be a naive hope. But they had been among the first and most staunch Human supporters of Faunus' rights. And even until today, that remained true to a fault, even so far as to allow them to stand beside their Human allies and citizens when the White Fang had turned so many against their very race.

And against their family, too, when that came to light.

His family had lost so much money when that happened, and Jaune remembered how coordinated it had seemed even to him at his young age. A sudden loss in shipping contracts, security for them, and everything else. And his family had tanked it like champions, never once compromising even when they seemed like they might have to sell their land to the Valean Council just to survive. He _still_ remembered seeing his father, eyes misting up, standing outside and watching as collectors and Huntsman carried away Arc relics. Swords, armors, spears, whatever he could sell to get by and support his home.

The armory was still missing a few pieces from that time, the Huntsman or collectors unwilling to sell the items back.

And in spite of all of that, Adam had attacked his home. His family. Why? Why the hell did he decide he needed to do that? What had they _done_ to him to deserve to even get a glance out of the racist bastard and his equally racist fanatics? The answer was obvious, of course, as much as Jaune hated it, hated the consideration of it even entering his mind. Or, the thing that connected all the answers was obvious, at least.

Jaune had caused this, through some ass backwards rationalization on Adam's part of course, but Jaune had _caused_ this.

And that thought had his blood running hot, boiling in rage and anguish, yet somehow still freezing in his veins. Fire and ice, rage and anguish, roaring in him like wild animals fighting for dominance. His fists clenched, so hard that his knuckles somehow ached _through_ the numbness, and he felt his fingers dig into flesh even through Salem's robes. First Roman, and now his own mother and his home… he just couldn't.

"No time when we get there." He growled to himself, low enough even Salem couldn't hear. He sucked a frigid breath, teeth aching and chattering from the unbearable cold in the wind, his arms shivering from the cold as much as trembling from the emotion playing through him. And he let it out, eyes closing as he forced the emotions down and away, just like when he felt them from others.

When his eyes open, cold blue and hard and filled with as much hatred and rage as he believed Adam had ever held for Humans like himself, he growled, "Adam Taurus… You made a mistake, and I bet even you are aware of that."

He let his eyes close at that, breathing deep and slow to try and force those emotions into check too. A failing plan, to be sure, but all he had while he waited for them to get there and stared into Salem's back. Anger and sadness, mixed with the stomach turning, visceral ache that echoed at the back of his skull and behind his eyes. Almost nausea inducing in its own way, worse even than the dragon's wingbeats.

"Jaune," Salem's voice reached him after a few more minutes, the blonde having leaned back as the dragon slowed, blue eyes roving green expanses that once would have amazed him. Now, he couldn't even pay attention beyond trying to figure out how close to Ansel they are. "Are you well, Jaune? Or, well, as well as one ought to dare hope for given what has happened too you so recently, at the least."

"My mother is dead and my home burned." Jaune answered, meeting Salem's blood-tinted eyes with hard blue ones, "You know how I feel, I bet."

"I… Do." She answered, those crimson orbs hard, boring into his own for several seconds before she turned. Not before he caught them softening, though, little more than a shift of her brows and a sad smile, but he saw it. "I saw my home burn, once. My people cut down before me by those who hated me, misunderstood me… They called me witch, and set a blaze they hoped to kill me."

"It didn't work." He noted, stating the obvious and hoping it would get her to continue her story.

"It did not." She agreed, voice so low he almost lost it in the wind and the beating of the dragon's wings under them and behind them. "I was away, with Ozpin at the time, on a mission… I can't even remember what it was, so long ago it was. When we returned, myself, Ozpin and his entourage of warriors and Maidens, my town was ashes and little more."

"They spared no one." She added, voice tinging with rage as she did, and something else. Below them, the dragon warbled mournfully and its head lifted as it did, betraying Salem's feelings as much as her voice ever could have. She gave its great neck an absent minded pat, and continued, "My friends, my people, were merely slaughtered. But my family? They were not spared in that way. They were roped to logs together in a circle, and set ablaze."

"What did you do?" He asked, losing himself in her story, and just imagining that for a moment.

His family, roped to logs and set alight, watched as they burned and cried for mercy by a laughing force of men and women, surrounded further by the burning settlement and the corpses of those who had lived there. Ansel in ruins, his sisters crying out for mercy and getting nothing but laughs...

It made his blood boil for Salem, rage coursing through him for what had been done to her. To the innocent people she loved, who she fought for.

"I ran to Ozpin, or to our camp a few minutes away rather, and I told him what I had found. Told him who had done it, as well, for they left more than enough evidence so I would know what they had done." She sighed, Jaune knowing she had more from feeling her move against him than hearing it. The sound was too silent to be heard. "Why, I do not know for sure. I asked Ozpin to help me avenge them. Do you know his answer?"

"He refused." Jaune suggested, knowing the answer even before she nodded her response. "Of course he did, the cowardly son of a bitch would refuse to go out and put a stop to that. Did he at least say why?"

"He told me that he, and the Maidens, and now myself at the time as well, could not…" She chewed on the word, almost, scowling for a moment before finally amlst snarling, "That we should not _debase_ ourselves as to seek out petty revenge. That I should just… Just _forgive them_ , and move on in my life. Become something greater."

"That sounds like him." And now Jaune was wondering where the ancient woman was going with this, eyes searching the back of her head for answers and finding none. "Why are you telling me all of this, Salem? Why now?"

"Because when you get there, your family may tell you that revenge is petty. Wrong. That it won't fill you with anything but emptiness." She turned again, pivoting at her waist and looking him straight in the eye, eyes hard and a cruel smile playing across her lips. "But I felt a kind of satisfaction I can't describe when I left Ozpin, and sought a way to get my 'petty revenge', and so we became enemies. Do you know what I did to them, Jaune?"

"The Grimm?" It made sense. What else could he have possibly been so bad that Ozpin would call her an enemy? "You found a way to… Become what you are now, and you used the Grimm."

"Indeed. So began our opposition to each other, if our war came later." She answered, "So, on this day, when you seek out your revenge against them, know that everything I am is at your disposal. Do as you wish, I won't intercede, Jaune. And I ask, what will you do?"

"I have a plan." He smiled, as much a smirk as a true smile but mixed with something more carnal, and Salem seemed oddly satisfied by it even if she couldn't see it. "I think you'll like it."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

The dragon circled over Ansel lazily, while Jaune stared down from on high. The guardsmen rushed to and fro, panicking and desperately readying themselves to face the creature. The manor - and the armory with it - had been scorched into oblivion, so most ran around with their normal spears, swords and shield, but a couple found pikes somewhere and held them high to ward off the dragon as best as they could possibly hope to. Jaune even spotted the blonde shocks of hair, rushing here and there among the settlement's ruined space and organizing the citizens as best they could manage into militia forces and dozens of small clusters of families either unable or unwilling to fight.

It would all be a waste, of course, if the dragon had actually come here to attack them. There wasn't much a bunch of spears would do against a Grimm this large. Even with his family lending their power against it as well, it would simply crush the settlement and its people under sheer weight. But he knew his father and the Arcs, and the people who lived here as well, would never go out with a whimper like that. Better a useless, vain roar than a whimper, he knew his father would say.

And he agreed, now, looking over the damage that had been done to his home.

The fields were scorched black, all the way to the forest where several feet of trees had also burned black before the fires could be controlled. And nearer to the settlement, several rows of neatly arrayed shapes in varying sizes lay, sheets, blankets and whatever else could be found covering them. Bodies, he knew without asking, a sight he'd seen before even if it hadn't been in this number.

"Can the dragon land in the burned trees?" He asked quietly, Salem angling the creature so she could see it and then nodding. "Land there, then, and… I don't know, try and make the dragon look less threatening?"

"It is a two hundred foot long, hundred ton flying Grimm wyrm, Jaune. I doubt there is anything that I could even attempt that would make it not look like an extinction level threat." Salem advised him dryly, angling the great creature towards the trees regardless. "I shall await atop my mount for your word. I don't quite feel like being stabbed to death today, I'm sure you understand."

Not that it would matter if she was stabbed to death, he thought about saying. She'd just leap into a new body again, and that would make her dying less of a problem beyond how annoying it might be. But he held his tongue, in the end, because he had much more important things to deal with.

Namely, his family and the militia they'd gathered, rushing towards the wall as the dragon came in to land. The dragon roared as it came down, wings and tail smashing trees aside as it slammed into the ground and Jaune lurched on top of it. Turning, it bucked against the last few trees in its way for space to move, and its tail swept behind it as it turned to face Ansel and bowled over even more of the burnt and dead trees, along with some green ones beyond them.

It leaned low and Jaune leapt off its shoulders, hitting the ground and kneeling with a pained grunt as it reared back up behind him defensively and he rose, shouting, "Don't attack! It's me, Jaune!"

"Jaune?" His father's voice shouted, caught somewhere in the middle of fear, surprise and absolute exhaustion. Jaune understood, looking at the dozens of bodies yards away under the wall. The gate opened as the younger blonde walked away from the dragon, and his father took a hesitant step out before he could make hi out, "What the hell are you doing with a damn dragon, boy?"

"It's…. Complicated, dad." He answered, grimacing at having to shout across a field of literal corpses like this. If kind of felt disrespectful, a little bit. But his father came down the hill, a hand gripping a sword in his off hand anxiously. When the man stood a few feet away, he spoke again, "I came as soon as my, uh, my friend told me what had happened. She sent the Gryphons to save the twins from Adam."

"About the twins…" He started, making a face as Jaune's stomach dropped like a stone in a well. His father spared the dragon a glance, the creature rearing up high to hide Salem, and then blue eyes met blue again and he continued, "The Grimm drove that bastard away as soon as it got there, but Cairi, she… Our doctors couldn't save her, Jaune."

"Cairi is…?" His father nodded and Jaune turned, pacing away from the dragon and his father both. His voice was muffled by his helmet and low, throat constricting so hard he almost felt like he was choking on his own tongue. "Did it… Dad, did it hurt?"

"I would like to say no, but…" His father made a noise like a sigh and a grunt, mouth working for something to say, and then settled into a frown. "I won't lie to you, Jaune. She woke up a few minutes later, after the Grimm drove off that bastard… It took a long time, and with no good doctors… She asked for you, Jaune."

He could imagine it easily enough, Cairi crying for her big brother while her home burned around her and her family fought to save what they could. And Jaune was away, at a Dust damn _party_ while it was happening. A damn Grimm came to help her where he could not, because he'd left days ago for petty revenge.

"Jaune?" His father tried, taking a couple steps towards him, watching the dragon from the corner of his eye. He saw the shaking in his shoulders, and his fists balled to the point of nearly cutting the skin open, and his father smile that kind of smile one gave when they didn't know how to show their empathy for someone's pain. "I know, son, it hurts. But there's nothing anyone could have done, so just come with me and you can see your-"

"My fault." Jaune snarled, voice low but carrying in the silence regardless. "I wasn't here, I was off on some revenge quest. I couldn't… Couldn't protect her. She cried for me, and I was _gone_ … Off fighting Atlas."

"Atlas…?" His father questioned, eyes narrowing curiously at his son's back. "What do you mean, fighting Atlas?"

"Ironwood took someone I cared about from me." Jaune explained, growling the name with a kind of heat that made his father flinch. "He had his fleet, or his ship, or whatever… He killed Roman in cold blood and fire." Jaune laughed, a cruel bark, and looked up at the sky, shaking his head, "That was my fault, too…"

"Jaune, this is not your fault." His father whispered, closing the distance with his son and laying a hand on his shoulder, using it to turn him and looking at Jaune through the helmet, "You can't have possibly done anything that would have brought the White Fang here, Jaune. It could as easily have been my fault for-"

"It _isn't_ , Dad!" His son snarled, jerking out of his grip and stepping away. Sucking in a deep breath, he staggered away, staring into space, "Adam came here to get at me, Dad. He attacked here because I… I cost him something, something that he thought was his, and he wanted to take from me."

"Jaune, you couldn't have-"

"I could have!" He snapped back, pushing at his father weakly, for nothing but the need to hit _something_. "I should have known what Blake was going to do! I should have sensed her damn intentions and stopped her! But I was too absorbed with my own shit to pay attention and she _killed herself_ to stop an attack that I wasn't willing to!"

"Jaune, you-"

"And then Ironwood killed Roman, and I went off on another kick of self-absorption, and fuck knows how many people died in _that_!" Jaune snapped, turning to look out at Ansel and fighting a losing battle with his tears. "And now, just look at what I-"

"Enough!" He turned at the woman's voice, in time to catch Salem's palm across his helmet while his father gawked at her. Jaune staggered to the side from the strike, ears ringing, and she grabbed the front of his shirt to wrench him around to face his father, speaking to the older man instead, "I hadn't wanted our introduction to go this way, Arc Senior, but such is life."

"What are you-"

"I am Salem." She interrupted with a hint of some kind of impatience, bowing her head slightly in greeting. "Queen of the Grimm, and Jaune's intended once the time comes as well, much as he might dislike that."

"Now," she turned on Jaune, "You need to calm yourself. You are losing yourself to emotions, because your Semblance has over-loaded your mind with them until you began to simply ignore them. And now you can't process them properly, so you need to _breathe_ , Jaune."

"How do you know?" His father asked quietly, while Jaune forced himself to calm down through the roaring in his ears and the aching in his head. Salem turned to look at him, and he asked, "How do you know how to help him? How are you controlling the Grimm? W-What _are_ you?"

"I am a woman." She answered simply, smirking amusedly when he gave her a disbelieving look, "Alright, I am a woman of particular looks and with more years than you would possibly believe behind me."

"And you're his… Fiance?" He asked, the ancient woman nodding at the man's question. "What happened to the other woman?"

"It's complicated, Dad." He answered for Salem, taking a shaky breath and nodding. "Everything is… Have you already had the services?"

"Did so around an hour ago." He answered, sighing and running a hand through his hair tiredly, "I was just gathering volunteers to fetch wood for the pyres when you and your…" He spared the dragon a glance, and this sigh was a suffering one, " _Mount_ flew over our settlement."

"I was hoping to get to attend…"

"We can't have bodies around, Jaune. Funerals have to be quick, or the emotions bring the Grimm down on us." Jaune nodded, understanding what he meant, and his father smiled apologetically, "If we'd known you were coming, we'd have waited, but we had no way of getting in touch so no one saw reason to wait."

"No, I understand, Dad." He nodded, "Can I see the girls? And get some Militia armor and a sword? I have something I have to do, after."

Two hours passed before he returned to Salem by the dragon, the woman having had some opinions about going into a village full of people to ogle her and call her a freak. He came wearing light chain over his shirt, and with a plain straight-sword hanging off his waist, but little else had changed aside from a thick cloak to ward off the chill from riding with Salem on the creature's back.

"How were they?" Salem asked when he joined her, the dragon stretching to prepare for another flight. "Also, Tyrian has been badgered incessantly by your friends. They are rather upset at your departure, it would seem."

"I'll explain everything to them once we get back, Salem. Tyrian can survive annoying questions until then." He answered quietly, meeting her eyes a moment later, "I know what we're going to do, to get at Taurus, Salem."

"Oh?"

"He claims to stand for the Faunus, right?" He asked, smiling behind his helmet. "That is because the only thing he has now is the Faunus, and his lust for revenge. That's it. He doesn't have another care in this world, with Blake gone."

"That sounds about right." She agreed, eyes searching him in concern as much as curiosity. "Does that factor into your plans, though? I must confess, I don't see how it would, myself."

"All he cares about is the Faunus as a race. And you want to rule the world as a whole, as well." He explained, resting a hand on his borrowed sword, "So we're going to hold the executioner's axe over as many of them as we can, by surrounding _taking_ Menagerie for ourselves and demanding that he surrender."

"And if he refuses?" Salem asked, sounding intrigued by the plan in a way that made Jaune anxious to even propose it to her.

"We'll make a show of attacking it, crush the CCT, and sink the ships." Jaune answered, "For all intents and purposes, and all anyone outside Menagerie will know, Menagerie will be in the process of being destroyed."

"That won't get Taurus to surrender." She pointed out, smirking knowingly, "But I suspect you know that already. Don't you?"

Jaune just smiled in answer, because he knew that perfectly well. Of course he did. He'd been in Adam's head, and knew how the man thought.

Adam attacked his home, the home of his people, and killed many while he ruined it as best he could. If Jaune made moves against Menagerie, the Faunus terrorists would assume it was vengeance and demand he do something. Adam, though, wouldn't care about Menagerie for the people. More for the idea of saving them, and playing the hero, and that would draw him to attack Jaune, a vain attempt at playing hero for the people he pretended to stand for.

And _that_ would be where Taurus died.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Making a very mild retcon here, before they begin to become important to this story in a much larger way. Apologies, and this is a symptom of such a long story over such a span of time. Going forward, Ghira's design is that of canon. Ase are the Belladonna's past. The only variance is that Sienna is dead, Adam usurped her at the implied earlier point in this story's predecessor.**_

 _ **Just a minor tweak, with few effective differences from what I had already written in, and an apology for its need. But one that is indeed needed, because of how much we have learned about that family and Menagerie as a whole. I hope for your patience.**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **Adam made a big mistake, that is to be known as fact.**

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 **This story is, in a way, a show that no one is a monster. Not really. Everyone is a hero, villain, and background character to other's stories. Always, and wrapped into one. Adam is a monster, to us. And to me, personally. But so is Salem.**

 **Yet here, she is heroine, and Adam is a plain monster.**

 _ **Gizmo Gear :**_

 **Indeed~**

 _ **Blartibus :**_

 **I hope you enjoyed what I wrote here, then, friendo~**

 **I love reviews like yours. To think I inspired such passion in something as to get someone to write, themselves, a chapter in response. Just to talk about what has transpired. It is humbling, thank you.**

 **You did, however, essentially guess what I planned, so…. Fuck.**

 _ **Follower 38 :**_

 **Indeed. Bloody dust, blowing away in the wind.**

 _ **Lord Owl :**_

 **I hope you find it satisfactory~**

 **I know I will.**

 _ **Patriarch :**_

 **Glad you enjoyed it. I always hoped to, one day, be good enough to deserve rereads. It is a truly wonderful experience that moves this writer's very heart, stone as it is.**

 _ **Kill Kill 123100 :**_

 **Vicious. Salem says she approves.**


	23. Knight Takes Queen Piece

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I am now, thanks to Supporters as listed above, stable and safe and working regularly on Fanfictions and an original, private project called Re:Programmed. Details**_ **will** _**be starting to come out within the next couple of months once I find an adequate animator.**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~! And please, PM me for a link and consider joining my Dis . c . ord, to discuss story ideas and potential new stories with me. That's where I'll ask about them, after all.**_

 _ **And with that budget I will no longer be working like a slave, yas.**_

 _ ***hears whip cracking***_

 _ ***whimpers***_

 _ **And onto tonight's wonderful tale…~Voltegeist**_

 _ **Ignore him, I haven't given him a sock yet ~ Twisted**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Where are they?" Weiss demanded, the others gathered loosely around her to begin the badgering for _today_ after all they'd done on the previous one. The same questions, asked the same ways, and hoping for different outcomes. She slammed a palm down onto the long table, laden with food for their breakfast with more on the way thanks to Seers delivering it, and almost shrieked, "I asked you a question!"

And they all said _he_ was insane.

"Tell them where we are, Tyrian." One of the Seers suddenly said, the Faunus straightening suddenly at the mildly amused and always half-interested in what he or others had to say. "Jaune says he wants them to know what has happened, in detail, so that they understand what he does next. So do you wish to tell them, or shall I do so in your stead? I know how bad you are with people, after all, dear Tyrian."

"I, well, if you wouldn't mind, my Mistress-"

"Of course, of course. Only, after they _sit down_ and calm themselves." Her tone brooked no argument and, possibly hoping for any answers at all beyond the vague half-explanations and non answers he'd offered thus far, the children started to finally take seats at the long, stone table. "Get yourself some food, some drink, and ensure you are awake. This is going to be quite the conversation, I assure you."

"We don't-"

"Child." The word cracked like a whip, and finally the young Schnee balked and shrank in her seat, reminded by the Seer's malignant gaze just who, or more accurately in her mind right now _what_ , she was speaking with. "You need to understand, right now, that Jaune has lost something precious to him. It was taken from him, for reasons that only seem reasonable to my mind. Petty revenge, for something not his fault and that he couldn't have known to even try and stop."

"Adam Taurus has murdered his mother and younger sister, and only stopped there because _my Grimm_ intervened on their behalf to save the other twin. Taurus also saw to the destruction of the Arc Manor, its vault where the priceless and historical artefacts of his family's history were stored, and took half the settlement and all its crops with it as well. Ansel is, now, truly gone." She gave them a moment to absorb all that, and continued on, "Jaune has decided to seek out Taurus to prevent further damages do himself, and those he loves, by whatever means he deems necessary. As such, we are on our way to Menagerie, to… Inquire as to his whereabouts."

"Wasn't destroying Ironwood's fleet enough?" Ruby finally asked, voice quite and weak. "What else is he going to do, if that didn't scare him away? What will Jaune… What is he becoming?"

"A monster." Weiss whispered, eyes sharp and boring into the table, her fingers curling into fists so hard her Aura flared to keep her nails from biting into flesh and drawing blood. "A despicable monster, who takes what he wants without consideration from those too weak to stop him in his tyranny."

"What this world needs, I have found after so long on it, is not some kind and benevolent hero. Someone to sweep in, in shining silver armor, to save the day, like in fairy tales and myths of old." Salem answered quietly, for once almost sounding… Sympathetic, like she understood why this would hurt them. "A despicable monster is who united the people and eventually formed the Kingdoms, and despicable monsters have led it since. It is the nature of things, and as much as Jaune might dislike it, he has learned he can't truly change it. It's integral to being human."

"He's going to flush him out." Ren realized, eyes widening at the realization. Beside him, Nora felt his own panic and mirrored it, and the effect cascaded around the table. Even Cinder and Pyrrha seemed shocked at the idea's implications. "He's going to force Adam to come out and fight him. And the only way he would risk himself like that is…"

"Master is going to gamble on Taurus' nature as a hero." Cinder said simply, drawing surprised sounds from those at the table. "Hard, but true. Taurus envisions himself a crusader, fighting for what is right. For justice."

"I don't believe that bombings and mass murder constitute justice." Pyrrha argued, Neo next to her poking at a piece of sausage and gritting her teeth while she listened to what was said. "Much less a second Faunus War, spawned from something such as this man."

"But betting an entire Kingdom like that is…" Ruby shook her head, unsure of the right words, and eventually sighed and looked to Weiss for help.

"Foolish, naive, childishly over-simplified and hopeful?" She tried, shrugging at Ruby and looking to Salem's orb. "If he does this, will hiding here even be _possible_? The battle with Atlas can be swept aside with my sister's aid, and even mine if I am needed. But something like this… This kind of ploy would require Adam face a grave threat to Menagerie, not one Jaune and a handful of Grimm could pose alone.

"That is not the end of his plans." Salem pointed out quietly, the group's attention and fear snapping onto her. "In the coming days, the entirety of the world's population will know the situation they live in. And in the coming days, they will also be forced to make a decision to fight against Jaune and myself, or kneel."

"You all," she continued, "get to make that choice _today_ , however. I shall leave you now, to decide among yourselves what you will do, while I gather my strength for Jaune's plans. If you wish to join us in ushering this in, simply let Tyrian know."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"How'd they take it?" Jaune asked, sitting on a cliff in the wilds far south of Mistral proper. In the distance, he could just make out islands dotting the blue of the ocean. The start of the archipelagos surrounding Menagerie's smaller continent. "I'm going to make a bet that they didn't take it _well_."

"Be careful, Jaune, or one might accuse you of being a psychic." Salem chuckled, shaking her head and settling in next to him, the dragon far behind them watching the area for any dangers and laying down with its tail wrapped around its feet almost like a hound. "They are afraid, angry, and worried for their world and for you. But I have heard nothing of turning against you."

"They're good friends." He nodded, smiling under his helmet. "Good people, too. I'm glad to have them around, I… Don't feel like I deserve them, but I'm happy just having them near me."

"If I did not know you so well, I might think you'd used your Semblance to seize their minds." He rounded on her, and she held up a hand placatingly. "Yet I know you, so I know you did no such thing. I am merely remarking on their loyalty to you. Which is impressive, by the by, to say the absolute least. And grossly under-describe it, I rush to add as well."

"They're not that loyal."

"Are they not?" She asked coyly, sitting down next to him and smoothing out her dress. She leaned against his shoulder and he thought to pull away, but decided against it at the last moment, since it seemed to make her happy. "They tolerated and accepted you marching out to attack Ironwood, and accepted when that turned from what you wanted into the unfortunate loss of life which was that end."

"Accepted it?" He asked, snorting a bitter laugh and shaking his helmeted head. "They were furious, sickened, and felt betrayed after what happened with Ironwood. I wouldn't call that 'accepting it', personally."

"Acceptance is not approving of it wholeheartedly, Jaune." She argued simply, "They accept what had to happen, and your judgement calls. They simply, personally, disapprove of them in a large way. Or perhaps it is better to say that they disapprove of how you went about the act of solving your problems, but approve of you solving it in the general and accept that you did so because you had to."

"Seems like word games to me. I just…" He growled in frustration, and Salem raised a brow at him curiously, "I don't _get it_ , you know? Like, I feel like they don't trust me, or they won't at least."

"What isn't to understand?" She asked, sounding amused enough to frustrate him further. She seemed to sense that, though, smiling apologetically when he turned to her and explaining, "They have faith in you, Jaune. They believe, without evidence in some ways that is true, that whatever you do will be the best that can be hoped for or achieved."

"I know, but…" He looked back at the islands and sighed, "Will that last through me taking the damn world over?"

"Perhaps." She answered, "Once they see you genuinely ending the conflicts between people, and they realize life may be better with us ruling over them. They will think us tyrants, though, doubtlessly."

"Yeah…" He took a breath before he spoke again, and Salem couldn't help the satisfied smile that crept across her lips at what he said next, "But a good tyrant could be a good thing, I guess. That's what you said, right? We can be good tyrants, and everyone will be happier and safer."

"It is what I said indeed, and I meant it as well." She nodded, "For a change of subject, how do you plan on taking Menagerie? If it simply drops off the grid in its entirety then surely, people will come looking. I've no qualms sinking their ships in the sea, of course, but… I fear you would."

"We're going to take the broadcast center, and make our announcement there with the leader of Menagerie. Then we destroy it, as a show of force." He answered simply, rolling his own eyes when hers lit up in excitement. "We'll demand Adam come and surrender and threaten to wipe out everyone there if he doesn't show himself in, like, a week or something. I don't know about that part, but it seems like a good plan to me."

"It is a good plan, and give him a day." She shrugged when he asked why, and answered, "I simply have a feeling he is in Menagerie, somewhere. I have learned to trust my intuition, and Taurus will rush here for a chance to play hero. What do you intend to do then? I assume you'll simply kill him?"

"No." Jaune growled, and even _Salem_ was surprised at the ferocity there. The heat, the hatred, suddenly frothing forward and warping his body language in a way that shocked her. His shoulders straightened into walls of ice and hands curling into fists, the young man practically radiating anger and hatred. "I'm going to rip away everything he has ever worked for, and _break_ him."

Salem's smile when he looked at her was thin now, and small. The corner of her mouth curving up, and her eyes searching his mask for… Something, before she demanded quietly, "Jaune, take off your helmet."

"But won't that-"

"I have a feeling, call it my intuition again if you like, but please trust me for a moment. I need to check something for myself." He hesitated still, and she sighed, "If you suffer a reaction from me, then I will make sure to get your helmet onto your head, I assure you. I just need to know something."

Grimacing, he let out a long and anxious breath, but reached up to grip the sides of his helmet regardless of the splitting headache he knew it would bring. She stiffened beside him, turning bodily to watch him, and he almost stopped to ask what she was even expecting. Instead, he grit his teeth and shoved the helmet off his head, feeling…

Curiosity, emanating from her and into him, laced with the echoes of grief, and loneliness, and a kind of pain he couldn't quite sympathise with or place. He didn't collapse, and knew that was the source of the spike of satisfaction she felt. The excitement that rushed through the ancient woman, that caused a smile to split her face that reminded him of the happiest ones he'd seen on his sisters. Usually at holidays or birthdays, when they got all the sweets and presents those brought them.

"So, Jaune." An eyebrow quirked, her smile growing even wider, and he heard for the first time her thoughts. " _You are finally ready…"_ "Are you ready?"

"To…?" He asked, smiling at her in return. Her joy was infectious, as emotions always were around him, and it was easy to lose himself in the emotions newly emanating from her. To feel the _age_ in them, the centuries trickling through her and into him.

"To become a King, of course, Jaune." " _My King, at that… Finally."_ She held up a hand, a small creature like an insect crawling along her arm and settling into her palm. Beady red eyes settled on his blue ones as the creature regarded him, the blonde looking at Salem curiously. "A very special creature, with a very special power and a very special gift to grant. A gift destined to you, Jaune."

"What will it do to me?" He asked cautiously, looking at the creature again. It looked kind of like a spider, sort of, he guessed. More Grimm though, obviously. "Will it… Make me like you?"

"Like me?" She asked, the blonde gesturing at his face awkwardly and eliciting a laugh from her. " _Silly young man…"_ "I knew what you meant, Jaune, I was only teasing. I am sorry, I'm just so…" " _Elated, shocked, relieved-"_ "Happy. That you are ready. And yes, in years to come, your body will have changed into one like mine. A side-effect of the immortality, I am afraid."

"I…" He swallowed, met her eyes, and smiled almost bitterly, "I did swear to you, didn't I? That I would do this, when the time came."

"Yes. And that when your woman passed, you would be mine. I will not alter our agreement, to do so would be dishonest. And of everything, I am not that." " _A monster I may be, but an honest one at least."_ He reached for the creature, and she smiled, closing her fist around it. "One last thing, Jaune… Before you take this burden, I want you to experience something."

Her other hand lanced out, grabbing his outstretched one and raising it to her forehead, pressing his palm there and closing her eyes, whispering, "A gift of experience and sensations, Jaune, and I don't know how else to phrase that to make you understand. My most precious of memories, so you know what I am and was." " _Reach into me, and they are yours…"_

"You'd trust me that much…?" He asked, receiving a simple nod of confirmation and shaking his head. "I don't know how to… How to look at memories like that, Salem. How to find them. I could hurt you, warp you, without even trying to."

"I trust you." She said, and he sensed that she _meant it_. "I can guide you to what I want to show you, Jaune. What I want you to experience." " _To share."_ "I have wanted this since I found you and your Semblance, and knew I could."

Nodding, he closed his eyes and… _Reached._

He felt her mind give in to him, as all did when he forced himself into them, and the cacophony that followed thundered into and through him like a rolling explosion that slammed into him with all the force of a typhoon. Then…. _Something_ wrapped around him, a presence that shielded him from the overwhelming memories, feelings, desires and needs.

Salem, he knew without asking, protecting him from being overwhelmed by her sheer presence. Like his helmet that she had provided, twice in fact she rushed to remind him, his first had been destroyed. She tugged at his mind and, pulling him further into her own mind and through it to somewhere else entirely. Or, he could only describe it that way, the sensation of moving here was weird. She beckoned him to follow, and he willed it to happen, and so his mind moved in ways that he didn't understand.

The movement was natural, though, and a moment later, his eyes opened once again, looking around himself curiously and at least slightly confusedly. Around him, trees stretched in every direction, dwarfed by his own massive, powerful body. He shifted to look down, and blinked in surprise at what he saw.

 _Himself_ , and Salem, sitting on the cliff with his head in her lap and the woman stroking his hair. She sensed, through their connection, his shock and looked up at him, smiling, " _This_ is my most precious thing, Jaune. Do you understand?"

He did, and though he couldn't say it he knew she understood. Rising was awkward, but only when he thought about it. Once he let go, it was natural, the way the dragon's body - _his_ body - moved, the way the weight settled on his legs as he reared high and rested on his haunches, his tail slashing behind him and throwing trees aside without even the slightest effort. He spread his wings, and did what came most naturally.

His roar scattered birds in the trees around him, and he felt his rage and sorrow wash through the beast and into the roar, raising his wings into the air and _leaping_.

Then he was flying, climbing higher and higher into the air and making wide circles as he did, looking around. To one side, in the distance over the green of trees and the browns of mountains and hills, he could distantly make out Mistral's southernmost parts. To the other, he could see Menagerie, the small settlement that was the 'Kindgom' clinging to its edge on one side. Pressed against the water, with low mountains warding off the wandering Grimm, he knew the truth that he suspected applied to every Kingdom of Man and Faunus.

The paltry mountains would mean _nothing_ should Salem decide to obliterate them. These places, and the people there, lived because she wished it and for no other reason whatsoever. The Man in him disliked that, felt almost trapped and oppressed by it, and raged at him to fight against that fate. Demand freedom, fight for it, and take it for himself with his own hands and blade.

The _Grimm_ in him, though, revelled in it for the moment it cared. The power they held over so many, the power _Salem_ held more accurately. Absolute, terrifying, insurmountable and nearly god-like in magnitude, and especially so when he compared it to anything Humans and Faunus could manage.

And then, neither parts cared anymore, his wings carrying him ever higher into the sky. He continued on, ever higher, until the sky darkened and he felt his body chilling in the cold air. Frost cracked when his shoulders moved, and he blinked, breathing in air so cold he felt it could kill him.

And then he was back, staring at Salem's stomach and blinking sleepily, and she chuckled, "I pulled you out of the dragon before you flew too high and killed the creature on accident, my Icarus." " _Though freezing and burning are different."_

"I… That was… Amazing, I don't…" He sat up, raising his hands and looking at them, then up to see the dot high above that was the dragon. "I don't think the _words_ exist, to describe that."

" _That_ is why you needed that helmet. To protect you from everything the courses through me, through my mind. A connection to the Grimm around me, and around my Seers. I had to shield you from a lot of it still, and you will have some adjusting to do when you convert, so you may deal with them." She explained, smiling and standing, pulling him up with her and taking a deep breath. "Magnificent, aren't they? The Grimm, I mean."

"I…" He paused, and chuckled, "Yeah, they are. I never would have… Never would have even thought about them like that, not until now."

"I doubt you would have." She agreed, holding out the insect for him once again. "Now, gather your wits, and prepare yourself, my new Knight. With this, you will grow ever stronger, and the Grimm will bow to you as they do to me."

"How do I…?" The creature fell into his palm, blinked at him, and then bit down on his hand. His Aura flared and he winced, and then the creature was a wisp of smoke scattering through the air. "Uh… Did it-"

"Yes." She answered, the dragon swooping low over them to land again, shaking its might head and looking at him curiously. He met its eyes and it snorted, and Salem continued speaking, "It will take some time, probably a year, before you feel anything beyond the ability to command my Grimm. Your Semblance is, for now at the least, safe." " _I'm not so foolish as to throw away_ that _kind of power in our situation."_

"Then let's get started." She nodded at his words, and reached a hand out to order the dragon to them. But Jaune stopped her, turning to it himself and shouting, "Hey, big guy! We need a lift."

The dragon thrummed, kneeling low so they could clamber up, and Salem smiled. Both at his command of the beast, so natural and assured in a way she had not matched for centuries, and also at what was about to happen. The glory to come, for her and him both. Her, the Queen of the Grimm. And her King, stronger than her in every way that mattered. And the look he gave her told her he knew that as well as she did. And that was good.

He wouldn't be worthy of her side if that wasn't the case, after all.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **So, this story is finally coming to an ending arc, after so gods damn long that I can scarcely comprehend and accept it as true. These next few chapters are going to be the last few, and… Gods has this been a long, long story. Ups, downs, and so much change in the year and a half or so I have been working on this story. Almost working straight through, too, thanks to all of you supporting me. Your Reviews, your readership, the Supporters that have come to this story and supported me for writing it and to help me continue it. During the writing of this chapter, I read the reviews for this story. Laughed, cried actually, and smiled all the while in a way I never do.**_

 _ **This story, and you all, have helped me through dark times. Pain, deaths in the family, lost jobs, depression, injuries and two moves. I have my own home, I have confidence in my writing - though I am not cocky or arrogant enough to think it perfect, I still want to better myself in every way - and I have all of you behind me.**_

 _ **Thank you all, every last one of you, from the absolute bottom of my Twisted heart. I will**_ **never** _**forget this time for as long as I live. Know that, no matter what comes, you are my Twisted Ones as far as I am concerned.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and see you next week with the Menagerie chapter.**_

 _ **Special shoutouts, thanks, and affection to :**_

 _ **Mika, The Impossible Muffin, Couer al Aran (for the original idea, in Telepathy, so long ago), Blartibus, Blaseing Fire, Smokey Panda, Bukkake No Jutsu, Duplicate User Name, Zenith Tempest, Spudy Potato, Gizmo Gear, Hikari Niwa, and all my supporters. And of course, a very special one for my editor - who didn't do this chapter, so that he could get this surprise - Voltegeist.**_

 _ **~ Twisted, with True Affection and Gratitude**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **A lot of this story is actually based on the song by Sabaton, A Lifetime of War, as seen above. Damned if it doesn't fit, though, and a good jam too.**

 _ **Death Trooper 900 :**_

 **This is the culmination of all of that, actually. I hope you enjoyed it.**

 _ **Curious Inquiry :**_

 **Somewhat, yes, in how I wrote him specifically in words and actions. But honestly, I hold that philosophy in mind in almost every story. The greatest villains think themselves the hero, after all.**

 **And the best ones show that. Lookin' at you, Thanos.**

 _ **Blaseing Fire :**_

 **Very well. Your conspiracy theories are somewhat right. Not entirely, but somewhat. Salem wants him to understand, to relate, to her. So that he'll tolerate what she is, and come down the road towards her. It's not so twisted as you might have thought, truly, though I see why you would think it.**

 **So in short, kinda yeah. In long, only in a manner of speaking. I genuinely hope that answers your question.**

 _ **Smokey Panda :**_

 **Oh, boy, I am going to do things to Adam… Ho ho ho, you may even think I did too much, in the end, to him. Let's just say 'Come to Jaune' meeting and leave it at that, shall we?**

 _ **Blartibus :**_

 **That is an excellent summation of events, actually. Everyone, check his chapter twenty-two review to see it. I would paste it here, but that would be kinda rude. Hats off, Blartibus.**

 _ **Mich Mech :**_

 **I'm glad I managed that successfully. She is… Hard to find a way to get some kind of humanity into her. Even some stories that try seem to imply that she is less human and more… Focused on something and feigning Humanity to get it.**

 **Here, her hurt and human needs are what drives her to do things.**

 _ **Follower 38 :**_

 **Oh trust me, mate, he won't be stoppin' at Menagerie.**


	24. Knightfall - Finale

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile**

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Emperor King Perby**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright?**_

 _ **I am now, thanks to Supporters as listed above, stable and safe and working regularly on Fanfictions and an original, private project called Re:Programmed. Details**_ **will** _**be starting to come out within the next couple of months once I find an adequate animator.**_

 _ **I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~! And please, PM me for a link and consider joining my Dis . c . ord, to discuss story ideas and potential new stories with me. That's where I'll ask about them, after all.**_

 _ **And with that budget I will no longer be working like a slave, yas.**_

 _ ***hears whip cracking***_

 _ ***whimpers***_

 _ **And onto tonight's wonderful tale…~Voltegeist**_

 _ **Ignore him, I haven't given him a sock yet ~ Twisted**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Overwhelming Menagerie had been child's play, their only defences had been two small frigates in the natural bay and the guard they could muster, and by the time _that_ had even been gathered his dragon had landed on the beach and the frigates had been beached by three massive Grimm serpents, turned on their sides so that rope, wooden detritus, scattered and varied weapons and frightened crew tumbled off into the sand on either side of his great, Grimm dragon. The more able-bodied crew, and those not trembling in fright in the sands, scrambled to get others to safety while the sea serpents reared behind the vessels and hissed threateningly.

Even they were terrified, of course. He could sense it in the crew, the three ranks of shield and spear-armed guards in light armor, and the civilians cowering even further back from there. The sight of four more serpents kept what fishing ships and trade vessels had been in the water from making a run for it, and at his order, began gently nudging the ships towards the sand or docks to force them to land. Whichever was closer.

Mixed into and just behind the line of regular fighters - no more than a hundred or two themselves and trembling with weapons in hand so badly that he could almost hear the weapons shaking - he saw a smattering of bright colors, varied armors and outlandish weapons of Hunters. Only around a dozen, and some armed with little more than basic mecha-shifting rifles, or off-handing a small arm and carrying a blade, but enough to cause a problem for him and turn this into a blood bath if he wasn't careful of them. Hunters were, typically, cocky and self-assured even when frightened or backed into a corner, and even though when he focused on them he sensed fear he knew it wouldn't matter if a fight started. They'd fight to the last man.

Behind them, bare-chested and wearing heavy pants and metal forearm armor, stood a man Jaune assumed to be the leader. He was impressively large, even from here, and he saw several fighters - Hunters and regulars both, and even civilians in the background - glance to him anxiously and then calm when he smiled and nodded to them. . He was a commanding man, and able to lead even now, with just a glance and a nod?

Impressive, and it kind of made Jaune jealous of the man's ability.

Behind him, nearer to the civilians, a woman and two robed men stood, seemingly arguing and consoling the civilians in turns. They listened to the woman, he could tell from their thoughts and the cascading reactions more than anything else, but on her he could only let out a pained whisper to match the face and name dominating the woman's thoughts when he focused down on her, "Blake…"

The cause of so much pain and war, and all she ever did was try and save lives. Al she'd _ever_ wanted was peace, and she'd caused war. Albeit indirectly, but still. She'd fought for Faunus kind, and died for it, and that had set off a chain of events leading to his conquest of their homeland... There was a bitter irony there, but he'd make sure that they got their equality. He owed that to Blake, at least.

"So, my sweet king to be, what is your plan now?" " _Aside from hiding behind my dragon's shoulders, that is."_ He turned slightly, kneeling between the beast's shoulder-blades, to look at Salem just behind him. She smiled knowingly, still more than pleased about their realization before and just as pleased to be doing what they were, and added, "If you do not act soon, they will likely panic and attack. It will be hard to calm them after that." " _Or appear as benevolent as you wish, for that matter."_

"Just… Trying to pick the right words." He sighed, shaking his head and looking at the woman for a suggestion.

"Don't try and pick out the right words, Jaune." She answered with an uncaring but honest shrug, "Speak frankly, with clear intentions, and make your demands. They aren't exactly in a position to defy you, though I would note that distress calls have been sent from their paltry CCT here into Mistral. I have contacts and agents there who have received instructions from Watts to delay the reactions however they can."

"How? You don't have a Seer with you, I'd sense it. Especially now, since I can, you know, use my Semblance with you around."

"It's a plan we've had for a while, Jaune. Watts' contacts would have found out about this and contacted him first, and he knows what to do." " _Even if he may be confused as to why it is happening now."_ She shrugged, smoothing out a winkle in her gown absently and smiling pleasantly at the information and the implication behind it. The dragon thrummed in response, and he rolled his eyes. "Hurry now, Jaune, before you end up the cause of a battle. I don't mind the bloodletting, but I know you do."

"I… Follow my lead, I guess? Be ready for my signal, and make a good entrance for me." He grimaced, itching at the short hair that had formed a young beard on his chin anxiously. She nodded and he murmured a thanks, and then stood.

Using the dragon's spines and armor as grips and handholds, he started scaling the creature towards its head, and he could sense Salem's curiosity along with her order for the dragon to still so that he would be hidden.

"I hope this works… I really don't want to have to hurt anyone I don't have to." Except anyone that got in the way of him getting to Taurus. They would either move, or be moved, and he couldn't bring himself to care.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"We've beaten bigger than this before, ladies and gentleman. Remember the Faunus Rights Revolution! Where we faced down the might of Remnant's Kingdoms and prevailed!" Ghira bellowed, staring up at the maw of the dragon leering down at them. Conscious of the eyes on him, he spread his arms wide and bellowed up at the might beast, "Well? What are you waiting for? Did you come here to surrender?"

"No, I came to let _you_ surrender." A voice called, and Ghira blinked as the head descended, his warriors instinctively backing away as the head curled on the sand, a man standing atop it and holding a spine on its head for support, face a storm of emotions and eyes gazing past all his men to Ghira himself, "I am Jaune Arc, and I have come to demand that Menagerie kneel to me and my companion, and surrender Adam Taurus into my custody."

"Adam…" Ghira turned, looking to the Albain brothers, and they exchanged wary glances before giving him unsure glances. Turning back, Ghira bellowed out to be heard over the distance, "Why should we give you Adam Taurus? I don't know where he is, but I need to know-"

"He attacked my home, Ansel, unprovoked and without warning." Jaune interrupted him, taking a step off the dragon's head and dropping the three feet off its armor to the sand, sinking to his knees and rising before continuing, "He burned our fields, destroyed Arc Manor and the Vault, and most importantly he-"

Ghira's eyes narrowed when the blonde seemed to choke, looking away and grinding his teeth before looking back at him and finishing, "He murdered my mother, and my kid sister, in cold blood. And he would have taken my other sister's life, too, if my companion hadn't sent her Grimm to their rescue."

"Your companion can control the Grimm?" Ghira asked, more out of shock then anything else, taking three long strides to the back of the armored line of fighters and laying his hand on a shoulder.

"Salem!" He shouted, raising a hand high into the air as the dragon behind him trilled, almost like it was reacting to the name. He thought for the briefest second that, maybe, the companion was the dragon itself. Until it began to turn, throwing up water and sand as it moved and Jaune finished, "Queen of the Grimm, and my ally as well as my companion."

A woman stood atop it, the creature kneeling its entire body down into the sand and water, wing serving as steps as she came down. Pale, with black and red eyes, and dark veins that spider-webbed across her face and hands, she _looked_ like a Grimm. The way she moved was regal and lithe, gown flowing around her like liquid darkness itself, the perfect image of a woman who was called 'Queen of the Grimm'. And absolutely terrifying, fear raging right to his heart, hammering away in his chest frantically at the mere sight of her stepping onto the sands of Menagerie. _His_ sands, he reminded himself, but her mere presence evoked doubt at that reminder.

Menagerie wasn't his any more, he knew. His forces couldn't stand, even _with_ Mistral and the White Fang, against someone who could beckon on the Grimm at any given moment. His only hope was that Mistral could evacuate his people, but he needed-

"Mistral will not be coming, not in time." Jaune said loudly, staring straight at Ghira as he said it. Like the idea had been plucked from his very mind. As he thought that, Jaune smiled widely and nodded, and Ghira's mouth ran dry, even as Jaune spoke to the rest of those around him, "I would speak to you, Ghira Belladonna, in _private_ , to discuss whatever comes next man to man."

"As you wish." He answered, throat dry, "Please, will you-"

"The Grimm stay where they are, and ensure no one leaves this island." Jaune answered, striding towards the center of the assembled fighter's lines without fear. Salem followed right behind him, smiling cruelly all the while, and Ghira felt eyes land on him. Jaune stopped just in front of the wall of spears, tips trembling at Salem's presence, and asked, "Or do you want to fight right now instead?"

"No!" Ghira assured him, pushing in between soldiers and forcing a hole open for the two to step through. He held a hand for them, like a man gesturing for a lady to head through a door, and even forced a smile as he made to follow them, "I will speak to Corsac and Fennec and find out where-"

"They know where he is." Jaune assured him, stopping halfway there and turning, whispering to him, "Order them to come as well, Ghira. I have a plan for this process of events, and if you listen to me, I promise that you will understand everything and no one will get hurt that matters."

"Matters…?"

"I _am_ going to kill Adam, that is a fact." Jaune answered, stepping close to be sure none could hear, almost close enough that Ghira could have crushed him in a hug if he wished to. And Jaune knew that too, somehow, judging from his small smile, "I don't want to hurt anyone, I promise. I'd say to trust me, but…"

"I don't have a choice. Right, yeah, I see that." Ghira nodded, hands on hips as he sighed, shaking his head and then raising his voice so all could hear, "Corsac, Fennec, you are representatives of the White Fang. Adam is accused of a war crime and murder, do you know where he is?"

"No, Chieftain, we don't." Fennec answered, bowing his head alongside his brother almost reverently in apology. "I shall see to finding him, though, if you but-"

"Then you two can come and talk to me instead." Jaune interrupted, the two Faunus flinching at the statement and exchanging wary glances. Smiling, Jaune asked, "Unless that would be a problem for some reason?"

"Of course not, Master Jaune Arc." The smallest one practically purred, bowing so low that even Ghira knew it was a sly insult. Jaune, though, seemed to either ignore it or not notice, and simply nodded and turned to Ghira, a silent request to lead on.

Not that he had much choice, of course, looking at the dragon on his beach as it rumbled threateningly and he sighed, "Yeah, right this way."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

The moment the six stepped through the door into the manor, Jaune rounded on Fennec, using his Semblance to hurl him bodily to the side and into a wall. The small Faunus crumpled, and Jaune sensed without needing to look when Salem slammed a hand into the other's stomach and drove them to their knees, hacking violently while Ghira put himself between the woman and the two attackers.

"I'm sorry, Mister Belladonna. Give me a minute to finish up here and I swear I'll explain myself to you in detail, anything you want to know." The man flinched at the sincerity there, and Jaune sensed his surprise as he knelt and spoke to Salem, "Make sure Fennec doesn't go anywhere, please? Corsac might not know everything I need, and I need the pair for the next step."

" _Mister Belladonna…."_ "You knew our daughter, didn't you?" Surprisingly, but only just for Jaune, it was the woman who spoke - Khali was her name, Ghira had suddenly gasped it when she'd spoken - and Jaune nodded at the question. The woman grimaced, looking at the downed Faunus, and then asked, "What happened to our daughter? What _exactly_ happened?" " _Those two won't say, but if he knew her…"_

"Adam Taurus was going to send a train full of explosives into Vale from Mountain Glenn, to cause a breach and let the Grimm into the city to wreak havoc." Jaune answered, laying his hand on either side of Corsac's head, pushing into his mind and forcing him to still, cutting off every signal his mind tried to send to make his body move while Salem pinned the other with a boot on his chest. "Blake… Shoved me off the train's landing, and boarded it herself as it made to depart. Then she blew the Dust all at once, killing herself to save Vale."

"She saved…" Khali's voice trembled, and he sensed her shock, the woman storming to Fennec's side and completely ignoring Salem, the Grimm Queen smiling in amusement as she slammed a kick into the man's side, nearly screaming at him and almost breaking a rib from the force, "You bastards said Vale killed her! You lied to us!"

Silently, Jaune forced his mind into Corsac's, pushing aside his will and what little resistant he could mount - nothing compared to Cinder's own will, to be damned certain - and then overriding it, searching his memories, and then smiling, "You _do_ know where Adam is. Perfect."

Now, he pulled Corsac's mind up, and then _apart_ , shattering it into a thousand shards and then grabbing the ones he needed to keep the Faunus alive and discarding the rest. Next, he pieced those together, making a loose 'mind' to base everything around and then integrating memory, and replacing Corsac's wills with Jaune's own, and enforcing a strict obedience into him as he'd done to Cinder. Made and then unmade by Jaune's hands, and then warped into nothing but a puppet of Jaune's and released to serve his ends and for no other purpose or desire.

"Corsac is dead," Jaune said, sensing Fennec's panic as he stood, and then smiling at the confusion when _Corsac_ did so as well. Jaune turned, the Faunus standing behind him and gazing uncaringly at his brother while Jaune spoke, "I only need one of you, which sucks for you, Fennec. Salem, would you mind?"

"W-What have you done, you horrible mon-" His words died in a gurgle as Salem's heel slammed down into it with enough force to crush the tile under him and make his Aura shatter and turned to Jaune without another care, leaving the choking Faunus to die and nodding politely at him.

"He's all you need, then?" " _I suppose you must, you wouldn't have had me kill him if not."_ She asked, the blonde nodding while she hummed and turned to regard Ghira and Khali, the large man inching towards his wife who very suddenly seemed to remember what Salem was, and grew afraid at that. "Very well. You, Faunus, could you see to getting us some tea? I find I am rather thirsty, and tea from Menagerie always tastes so fine."

"O-Of course, yes." Ghira said quickly, sounding and feeling terrified in equal measure to Jaune's enhanced senses, forcing an anxious smile and gesturing behind him, "Please, just follow me to the tea room. Khali, would you mind-"

"Of course!" " _Who in the god's names asks for tea after killing someone like that?"_ She agreed quickly, giving Salem and the freshly dead Albain a berth to head into the manor quickly, anxious to be away from both of them in equal measure. She disappeared through a doorway with a shout of, "I'll get some boiling right away!"

"Corsac, take your brother and sneak away from the manor." Jaune ordered, turning to the puppeted Faunus who hummed in response, raising an eyebrow and smiling pleasantly at Jaune speaking to him. "Go to Taurus, and tell him that Ghira wishes to speak with him secretly. Tell him to sneak into the manor, armed, to work with him to kill me. A show of support from the Chieftain, if you think that will convince him."

"Using yourself to bait him into a trap." Salem said, as much a compliment in itself as an explanation to Ghira, who looked more than a little shell shocked by the very rapid string of events. "Clever, Jaune. Very, very clever indeed." " _And rather dangerous as well, if this man decides to act on that idea himself and strike you down."_

"Ghira, I think you and I need to have a bit of a talk." He said simply, understanding Salem's fears. Ghira could very easily decide to attack him, and the Grimm might not reach him in time to help. That would almost definitely mean he'd die, and Menagerie with him. "About Blake, and what happened to me, and what's _going_ to happen to Menagerie. As well as the rest of Remnant."

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

"Have even a single one of you considered what will happen if you fight him, young ladies and man?" Tyrian asked, blocking the lowered ramp up and into the Bullhead they'd hoped to steal, arms crossed and smiling widely. The young Hunters exchanged glances, but didn't answer right away, so Tyrian hummed, "I thought not. The short answer is, you will get a _lot_ of people killed who don't need to die."

"We can't just let Jaune start a war with the Kingdoms." Ren argued simply, the other three assembled behind him with weapons half-ready. They knew a fight with Tyrian would not go their way, of course, the readying was more instinct than anything else. "What would that say about us?"

"The young God-to-be is not starting anything, young man. He's ending two wars, three if you want to argue about it. The White Fang declared their little war on everyone years ago, the Schnee can attest to that one personally." Tyrian argued with a shrug, Weiss making a pained face at the statement but not contesting it. "Then there's the war between Man and Grimm, which he is also ending, even if you don't like that ending."

"Of course we want the Grimm to stop killing people!" Ruby interrupted, "But that doesn't mean we want that… That _thing_ of a woman to take over the fricking world!"

"That _thing_ is more powerful than every last snivelling one of you combined! And she is the only reason I haven't _gutted_ each and every last pathetic one of you ungrateful little shits!" He snarled, tail flicking behind him as he stepped towards them and spread his hands threateningly. After a second, he sighed and shook his head, "She won't forgive you if you kill them, be patient…"

"Do you want the killing to stop, girl?" Ruby nodded nervously, and Tyrian smiled, "Then dear girl, _celebrate_! The killing will, in a short enough time, truly and completely come to an end. At least the kind we see now, the kind where whole villages are razed, every last pathetic little inhabitant torn to shreds, dashed upon the stones of their burning homes."

"It doesn't sound like you have any problems with how things are now…" Nora accused, hand tightening around her weapon's grip. He shrugged and nodded, making an amused face as if to say 'fair enough'. "So why stop us from going? If you really think we'd make this drag out and get people killed, you should _want_ us to go."

"Ah, someone who understands me, and asks the _real_ questions! My, but you are a rare kind to find, my sweet." Nora recoiled at the almost intimate term, but Tyrian moved on to answer her almost without noticing, "You see, I _would_ prefer things stay the same. But ultimately, all I care for is what my Goddess decrees to be. If she says that I should seek peace, then that is what I must do, just as surely as if she says that a village needs to fall then it must be made the case that is has fallen."

"So you just do whatever you say? Like a hound, called by his master whenever his master needs amusement?" Weiss asked, barbing at him almost on reflex, but flinching when his head snapped to her and his tail flicked threateningly over his shoulder.

"I _am_ her hound, yes." He nodded, smirking at her and wagging the tail up and down as much in threat and in a joking way. "And I am loyal as one, little Snowflake. A loyal dog, with orders to keep you here and safe. Not _unharmed_ ," he added with a low, threatening chuckle, "but safe."

"And if we try to get past you by force?" Ren asked, eyes narrowing at the man.

"Then I shall stop you." He answered with an uncaring shrug, almost smiling hopefully at the idea of it. "Broken bones would do the job, as well as rope and ties, and I even have a type of venom in my tail that will put you to sleep for some time. Do you all have any preferences, then?"

When none stepped forward, he chuckled, and his smile fell, "I thought as much. You know, if you would just trust in him, and give him a chance, then maybe you'd find the world he and my Goddess make to be better than this one."

"How?" Ruby asked quietly, watching the man relax from his fighting stance into a more comfortable one with his arms crossed.

"Think on it, young Rose." He said, tapping his nose with a small smile - at the 'young Rose' name or her question, she wasn't sure. "Imagine a world where the Grimm don't slaughter and maim, and instead serve as Salem's watchdogs. A world where terrorism is seen by a thousand eyes, and stopped by tooth and claw. Where all are equal and made to be so, no more hatred based on sex, or Kingdom, or race," he flicked his tail once at that last bit, to emphasize his point, "because my Goddess doesn't care for such petty things, and young Jaune won't tolerate them."

"A utopian dream, it sounds." Weiss started, eyes narrowing beside her partner, "And all it requires is for the world to kneel to the Grimm."

"Is that truly so much worse than the way things are now?" Tyrian asked, sighing and stepping aside, waving an arm at the Bullhead he'd stood before previously, "In a lot of ways, you already do kneel to the Grimm. The Grimm decide where you settle, decide who lives and who dies, and enforce their will wherever they need to. If you truly wish nothing but more purposeless killing, then be my guest."

"You're letting us go?" Weiss asked, surprised at the sudden gesture.

"I am calling your bluff." He corrected, smiling even wider than before, as impossible as that seemed. "You go out there, and Kingdoms will burn. Unless you think that any one of them, or even _all_ of them, could face down the armies of my Goddess. I suppose that would mean you also think that what happened against Atlas was a mere fluke."

None of them did, and he knew that, smiling pleasantly even before Weiss backed down and sighed. Ren was the next to fold, and Nora with him, before finally Ruby gave in and they turned to head back to their quarters. Chuckling as he watched them leave, Tyrian gave a pat to one of his pockets, inside which sat the sparkers for the Dust that gave the craft lift, and then made to follow after them.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Adam arrived barely an hour and a half later, Ghira waiting outside in the garden for him to show up and then leading him in, towards the tea room. He sensed them both, the ball of vitriol, hatred and rage that was Adam and the much more anxious feeling Ghira with him. Adam suspected nothing, and seemed not to be on guard but instead seemed _excited_ about what was coming.

Which was a good enough confirmation that Ghira had kept his word, so he turned to Salem where she sat at the table with Khali, enjoying warm tea, and said, "Taurus is close by, on his way. I'd ask if you were ready, but… You kind of trash _everyone_ , don't you?"

"Yes." She answered with a thin, toothy smile, "I do."

He nodded, leaning against the wall by the door and waiting, watching the two women drink tea together diplomatically, if not entirely pleasantly, talking. Even if Khali seemed anxious and frightened of the Grimm-Queen, she had the courage not to terribly show it and force herself to sit and keep company with Salem. And honestly, that was kind of impressive, given the displays Salem had already put on for her.

"-here, he's resting while we look for you. We can take him together, if you want." The words were spoken low enough to hide from someone who was supposed to be sleeping and with a wall between them, but Jaune _wasn't_ sleeping. He was leaning against the only wall between them, next to the _open_ door, and waiting on Adam.

"He's mine, and mine alone, Chieftain." " _And he'll pay for what he did."_ Jaune had to resist a snort at the cock sure attitude, but he did let himself smile and wave a hand at Khali to move away from Salem. He heard Adam draw his sword, and saw the man step around the corner confidently and raise it to strike, and then freeze with his back to him as Salem rose. "Who are-"

The table left the ground with Salem's foot and flew at him, forcing Adam's attention on her and the table, his sword coming down to cleave through the wood as he stepped back for space. Jaune took the opportunity and dover forward, driving his shoulder into the shocked man's back, driving him into Salem's open palmed strike into the center of his chest. The air left him in a rush, and he swung his sword weakly at Salem, who caught the arm holding it and wrenched him around to face Jaune, slamming a foot into the back of his leg and forcing him to his knees.

Before he could try anything, Jaune's hands fell on the sides of his head, splaying among his hair and under his horns and dominating his body through his mind, ending whatever fight the man had and growling, "You wanted me, Taurus, and here I am. What now?"

"I-I'll… k-kill you, Human. For Blake-"

"For yourself, that's what you really mean." Jaune growled angrily, kneeling in front of the man and releasing his head, the man unable to move his limbs now. Plucking the mask from his face, Jaune smirked into angry brown eyes, and said, "I know what you wanted, Adam. Why you're so angry at me for Blake's death, even though her death is _your_ fault. She died _stopping_ you, Adam."

"No, she-"

"No." His hand clamped down on the side of Adam's head, robbing the man of his speech with a thought, the Semblance's power coming easily to him while he smiled viciously. "Taurus, I came here to punish you, and end what you started. Not for a fucking _debate_. You destroyed my home, killed my mother and my sister. A _child_ , and you stabbed her right through the back."

"And now," he finished, smiling as he started the this time purposefully slow and painful slow process of subsuming Adam's mind, disassembling it one agonizing piece at a time so he could feel himself being disassembled, broken down into each tiny piece of himself and watching it be warped and twisted into what Jaune desired, "I know exactly what to do to you to make you pay for what you did."

Smiling even more widely, he began reshaping the man's mind as he'd done to Corsac only a few short hours ago in the the Chieftain's main entryway, but with one special thing he took care to do. Adam would remain conscious the entire time he lived, without a will of his own. A prisoner in even his own body.

"You want to stand on top of the world, and you will." Jaune explained, sensing the panic and pain rushing through Adam's mind while his face twisted in reaction to both and his arms trembled from the experiences, "Right behind me, as my sworn servant. That should get the White Fang on my side, if one of their own is my guardian."

"You can leave, Ghira." He offered to the man and his wife after a second thought crossed his mind, "I don't think you'll enjoy seeing this, so wait for me somewhere else. I'll come and find you with my new bodyguard later."

Neither said anything, of course, either frightened or resigned - probably both, really - and left without another word.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Talon Ibn La Ahad :**_

 **Never too late to hop on the ride, friendo~!**

 _ **The Impossible Muffin :**_

 **In fairness, it's meant to not be something stated, but shown. And some missed it, but that's a problem with that style of writing on such an important facet of the story. Jaune understand Salem and gets pushed and pushed and pushed and never let be, and these two things combine.**

 **Everyone** _ **assumes**_ **things about him, or pushes him to do what they want with no regard for what he himself wants. Salem understand him though, and he understands her and gets what she wants.**

 _ **Death Trooper 900 :**_

 **Eh, a little of both, I think.**

 _ **Blaseing Fire :**_

 **I mean, I'm out of chapters, so you deserve a good, solid explanation on things. Even if I am still kind of subtle about it, to annoy you a bit because I'm kind of a dick sometimes, you see.**

 _ **Kill Kill 123100 :**_

 **Same here, my dude, same here.**

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Thanks to everyone for reading, I am truly thankful to each and every last one of you. You've taught me so much over these years, and given me so much support. But I ranted about that last chapter, so…**_

 _ **See you next time, Twisted Ones.**_


	25. Epilogue

_**(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **Official Supporters:**_

 **Grand Priestess, Luna Haile** _ **\- "That's meeeeee~!" ~ Mika**_

 **High Priest, Alvelvnor**

 **Priest, The Impossible Muffin**

 **Priest, Xager the Chaos King**

 **Acolyte, DigiDemonLord**

 **Acolyte, Maxentirunos**

 **Initiate, Shadie**

 **Initiate, Greg Gibson**

 **Infiltrator, Voltegeist**

 _ **If you want your name on the lists of my stories and videos, head over to P a t. R e . o n and search for the Temple Walkers. Just let us know you're from Fanfiction so we can get your name in nice and proper, alright? I couldn't do any of this without you wonderful people's support, of every variety. Thanks to all you guys~!**_

 _ **Along with this, Volte and I here are working on building out our own Dis-Cord server, for fans of myself and RWBY both to chill and hang and just chat about RWBY and stories in general. Story concepts, narrative ideas, challenges, Commissions from those interested, announcements about what I am working on and when and more are already a feature but we hope to add more RWBY fandom related stuff. It's a great way to be involved without being a Supporter.**_

 _ **PM one of us for a join link, and give us some ideas.**_

 _ **Alternatively, try the link below, if FF lets it work. Just delete any spaces :**_

 _ **kfhkfUb**_

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

Jaune brought his shield up, catching the weak spear thrust and angling his shield to turn it aside, letting the small attacker stagger past and turning, touching the tip of his long blade against area between her shoulders and laughing, "Dead again, Cairi. You put too much weight into the thrust, and I put you off balance for it. In a real fight, you'd be dead. Let's take a break and get something to drink."

"Gods, Dad, how did you get so good at this?" The small girl complained, following behind him with her spear-tip dragging in the loose soil of Salem's continent and he turned to look at her. She was scrawny like all children, with mismatched eyes of blue and white and blonde hair lanced among black tresses. " Even my sister can't fight you, and she always beats me when _we_ spar!"

"That would be because your mother taught her." Jaune pointed out, face still young thanks to Salem's parasite, even if his skin had paled and his eyes darkened already in such a short time. "All my life, I've never beaten Neo in a fair fight. And _she_ has your mother's Semblance, so she is training her."

"I know, but it _sucks_ , Dad!" The nine year old whined, and Jaune rolled her eyes at her for it, reaching down and plucking her from the dirt as they reached the castle, letting her ride on one of his shoulders. Even tired and trying to pout, she still played with his hair and mumbled, "Thanks, Daddy. Watch out!"

He raised his hands as Roma appeared above him, diving down, and turned with her fall to cradle her against his chest while she signed animatedly, a mirror image of Cairi smiling up at him with a pink eye instead of white and creme colored hair lanced with his blonde instead of the black, "Hi, Daddy! I missed you."

"I missed you too, Roma." He chuckled, leaning down to plant a kiss on her forehead, drawing a mute giggle from the girl before he pulled back and gave her a stern look, "Didn't I tell you not to jump on me like that? You could get hurt."

"Mommy said to." He sighed, looking up at the castle and seeing the woman laughing mutely with Pyrrha at her side, a small smile on her face as well.

As soon as he entered through the gate, part of a perimeter wall and extension they'd built to add buildings for staff and officials they needed to run the new empire, he dropped them both on the ground and rolled his shoulders, waving at the women and turning to head into the blocky managerial building to check on things.

"Yes, yes, I understand that the bandits are still hiding in the desert." He heard Weiss groan, pushing open a door and giving her a nod as he sat down, Ruby across from him and a half-dozen other people whose names he didn't know who worked for Weiss. "Jaune, good of you to join us."

"Is everything well in my kingdom?" He joked, chuckling at the woman's rolling eyes. "Sorry, I was-"

"Playing with your kids, yes. I am fully aware" Weiss nodded, tossing a folder in front of him with a deft hand and knowing smile, "Read that, it'll catch you up on happenings, while I manage your sodding empire for you."

It was more of the same, really, the world having settled into pleasant tedium after they calmed down. The empire was at peace finally, after everything and the few initial resistances that had formed - quickly resolved thanks to some influential people like a Headmaster in Mistral, and Winter and even, to his surprise, Goodwitch - seemingly under Ozpin's direction, though, and only once the way the wind blew was incredibly obvious.

A few circling dragons whenever someone got a bit too rough did much to help, though, of course. Sometimes, a few of them could prevent a battle outright. It was hard to convince people to let themselves be eaten for a losing battle, after all, and when word began to spread of how generally well things went for everyone… Well, resistance faded fast, people eager to just get on living.

He had brought tyranny to Remnant as a whole, true, and everyone knew it deep down. But with it he had brought peace, justice, equality, freedom and prosperity to all. A fair trade, he found, to many people's opinions.

His friends had left him, for a time, when he returned from his almost completely bloodless conquering. All save Pyrrha and Cinder, at least, and none had done so to start a war. They wanted to see what the world was like, now that things had been made to change under his strong hand and Salem's clawed one. Once they saw that he was honest when he said it would be better, and they saw the changes taking place, they began to trickle back one after another until they had all returned and began to work for him to make things even better.

The only exception was Yang, who stayed on Patch with her father, resting and unwilling to rise after news of Salem's rulership came down. Still, he'd had a cybernetic Atlesian arm sent to her, just in case…

Life was good, and when he saw Neo push into the office with a smile, he let her plop into his lap and curl up comfortably and sighed. Life just kept getting better, too.

 _ **(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)**_

 _ **And that's the end. Alls well in the end, and for once in my story, a happy ending exists. I hope you all enjoyed.**_


End file.
